Ride of The Vigilante
by skca54
Summary: Kick-Ass and Hit Girl, on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law. Crusaders in a dangerous world... The world of the vigilante. Mindy has left New York and Dave went after her. He did not reach her before the worst happened, but now they are together and forging a new life for themselves.
1. The Healing Power of Purple

**Author's Note:** _This will be my twenty-first story. It is an offshoot from a 'one-shot'. The backstory can be found in **Chapter 1:** **Hit Girl Seized** of my other story: **The Trials of Kick-Ass and Hit Girl**._

 ** _Synopsis:_** _Mindy Macready fled New York. She stopped in Chicago, but alone, she went almost feral as her Hit Girl alter ego took over. Then everything came to a crashing end as she was overpowered and taken by local mobsters. Dave Lizewski, in his own alter ego, of Kick-Ass, had spent almost two months searching for Mindy. He found her and he rescued her, but not before Mindy had suffered the ultimate injustice, and was raped. Now the pair have fled Chicago and are heading west in search of a new life._

 _Mindy is one month short of her sixteenth birthday, while Dave is seventeen._

* * *

 ** _Six days later  
October 24th  
Saturday_**

 ** _Denver, Colorado_**

"Why don't we go out and have some fun, kick some criminal ass?"

"You can – you have your wetsuit; I have fuck all!" Mindy replied dejectedly. "Everything that makes me Hit Girl is back in New York."

"Technically, that is not quite true..."

"What do you mean by that?"

I reached down and pulled a pack from under the bed. I placed the pack onto the bed and unzipped it. Mindy peered over curiously.

"That's mine!" Mindy commented as she examined the pack, looking confused.

"Yeah, it is. We found your apartment and cleared it out, _everything_!"

I reached into the bag carefully with both hands and grasped two objects.

"These should get your panties good and wet!" I laughed, throwing two long objects onto the bed.

Mindy took a single look and then jumped to her feet with a squeal. She tentatively reached down and grasped hold of the two parts that made up Hit Girl's most fearsome weapon. She twirled the lethal blades of the bō-staff around, while I kept well back. I knew exactly what those blades were capable of accomplishing.

"You fixed it?"

"No – it's your spare, but I sharpened and polished it for you."

Mindy spent a few minutes gazing into the highly polished blades.

"Okay, you'll need these, these and these, plus these and these, and of course, this and this!"

I threw onto the bed a pair of purple pants, a purple jacket, and then a small tartan mini-skirt, a pair of boots, some gloves, and a belt with attached pistol holsters. Two knife carriers, two pistols and of course, the mask and wig.

"Oh my God!" Mindy breathed as she took hold of her jacket.

Tears fell down her cheeks as she hugged the item close to her chest. I was a little worried as she was still holding the extremely sharp bō-staff sections!

"Should I, err, leave you, the jacket and the very sharp blade alone...?"

Mindy looked up at me and glared, but then she dropped everything and hugged me tightly. She started sobbing again and I hoped that sobbing was not going to become a regular thing! After a couple of minutes, Mindy looked up at me.

"I was so right letting you into my life..."

Mindy then pushed me away and started to strip off. She pulled on her purple pants and she smiled fit to burst. I took the hint and began to change.

"Damn!"

"What?" I asked as I pulled off my trousers.

"I think my tits are getting bigger – this jacket is tighter than it was before..."

"Err, can't say that I've noticed," I replied, diplomatically.

"Wise-ass!" Mindy quipped with a grin.

* * *

 ** _That night_**

 ** _East 68th Avenue and Franklin Street_**

"What are these? You changed your batons?"

"Somebody important, I forget who, once told me that real superheroes modify their costumes..."

Hit Girl blushed, knowing I was referring to her.

"They seem chunkier..." Hit Girl commented as she hefted them in her hands.

"They're aluminium, instead of wood. That's how I was able to cave in some skulls the other night..."

"I am impressed, Kick-Ass – you've finally come of age!"

"Thank you, Sensei!"

"Funny!"

* * *

It was dark, but cool.

The street was clear. We had parked the car, ensuring that it was behind some trees, hidden from casual sight and almost invisible in the darkness. We proceeded on foot towards somewhere we hoped would be open for business.

"Err, Kick-Ass – a question for you... It has only just clicked in my mind, but... Please tell me that car is _not_ the fucking 'Mist Mobile'!"

"Yeah – it _is_ that car – only I'm not calling it that, for err obvious reasons. We need to get it resprayed _and_ renamed!"

"Dare I ask who paid for it?"

"I hope you like your new car!" Kick-Ass laughed.

..._...

As we crossed over Franklin Street, we started to see some activity. A few cars, with furtive looking drivers. I knew the signs – these were idiots looking for a score. They would not be scoring – we would. Beside me strode the muscular form of Kick-Ass. Man, his muscles had improved since I had last seen him topless – his abs were to fucking die for...

Get your damn head in the game, Mindy – and out of the fucking gutter! Those fucking words came back to haunt me: 'It's biology bitch, don't fight it!' My mind was all over the place – I was having trouble focussing; I just hoped that I was not about to let Kick-Ass down. My last time out on the street had not exactly gone according to plan!

This time, though, I _was_ Hit Girl, right down to my tartan skirt and razor-sharp bō-staff. I was _so_ looking forward to kicking some criminal butt and I hoped, killing some too.

"Stand to, Hit Girl!"

* * *

"Huh?"

"You using your goddamn eyes?"

"Sorry, Kick-Ass – I err, tuned out for second..."

I focussed on what was in front of me. I smiled. It was the classic arrangement. An SUV was parked over on the far side of the avenue. In it sat two men, ostensibly dozing. A punter would pull up on the other side of the avenue, our side, and another man would appear from the far side of the SUV and take the drug order. The men in the SUV were the guards and the order desk. The man would cross over to the SUV and place the order. A few minutes later, two cars would appear from a street – in our case, Downing Street, to the right. The first car would stop beside the punter and take the cash, before speeding away and presumably driving around the block back to the base with the money. The second car would then pull up and hand over the drugs.

It was a simple dodge. No single person was actually selling anything – most definitely not selling drugs! We decided that we would need to target the entire organisation, so we settled down to watch their routine.

* * *

 ** _One week later  
Saturday night_**

 ** _East 68th Avenue and Franklin Street_**

"Ready to strike, Kick-Ass?"

"I have your back, Hit Girl – as ever."

He can have any part of me! Dammit, focus!

I knew that he would be there too, always. It was dark again and after several night's reconnaissance, we had devised a plan to relieve the drug cunts of their cash and to put them out of business, permanently. We knew exactly where the drugs were stored. It was the same place where the money went back to, after each successful drug transaction.

I had also decided that they would all die. I had a lot to get off my chest and I had just the one outlet!

..._...

We headed down East 68th Avenue and then turned right at Downing Street. Nobody saw us as we skulked through the shadows. A little way up the street, the street ended and we found a red roofed building. It was the drug dealer's base and we would hit that and the cars, simultaneously.

To aid us in our task we had placed explosives on each vehicle, which Kick-Ass had thoughtfully brought with him from New York. I pulled out the remote and thumbed off the safety as the pair of sedans pulled up and the men climbed out, taking their cash into the house.

"Fire in the hole!" I growled and pressed the button.

A few hundred yards away, an SUV suddenly became airborne on a column of fire, lighting up the night. It did not land on its wheels though! At the same time, a dozen yards away, two sedans split in half and rolled over as fire took hold on their shells.

The two men on guard duty fell to a bullet each from my SIG Sauer pistols. Kick-Ass and I both ran towards the entrance of the building. Three men appeared, all armed with automatic weapons. Bullets were sprayed into the darkness.

"Fuck!" I growled as I threw myself down and rolled to avoid the lethal burst of gunfire.

Kick-Ass moved around to the right in a flanking movement covered by the darkness and the burning vehicles. I returned fire, dumping magazines and switching them for fresh ones as required. The three men fell and we both ran into the building.

* * *

I had forgotten how exciting things got when you went out with Hit Girl!

She had dispatched five men without a second thought – or even a first one, for that matter. The building was not large, but it had a basement, which would need to be cleared, and fast, before the Police and Fire arrived.

We ran down a short corridor; a face appeared and I clubbed it down.

* * *

There were two men guarding a room. Kick-Ass put one down with his batons while I took out the other with a blade of my bō-staff. It felt so great to be able to kill with it again! Blood flew and splattered across the walls of the corridor.

The rooms were empty of people and seemed mostly to be places for the men to wait between sales. We found a door that led to stairs that went down to the basement. We carefully made our way down and found another door.

Kick-Ass kicked open the door and – jackpot!

There before us was the counting room. Two men cowered at one side of the room, not far from piles of cash. Through another door we found piles of drugs.

"How much?" I growled, indicating the cash.

"Forty-eight thousand... Please, don't shoot us..."

"Thank you... I promise I won't shoot you," I replied.

The two men looked relieved as Kick-Ass shoved the money into a bag. I pulled the pins on two grenades, throwing them into the room with the drugs and pulling the door closed. There were two loud explosions and the building shook and smoke billowed out from around the closed door. Just as I was about to leave the room, I turned to the two men.

"Catch!" I growled as I pulled two more pins and threw two more grenades, smiled at the horrified men as the grenades landed beside them and ran out of the door.

The minute we reached the open air, the two grenades exploded.

* * *

The drive back to our hotel was fun.

I could not stop talking; I was full of energy, like I had not felt in almost two months. I owed Dave for coming after me. I owed Dave for rescuing me – again! I owed Dave for being with me. I owed Dave… Period! We stopped on the way back to strip out of our costumes and hide them away, along with the Kick-Ass armour, and our weapons.

I was still hyperactive when we got back to the hotel room. Dave insisted that I went for a shower to 'cool off'!

..._...

After my, surprisingly invigorating, shower I returned to the bedroom to find Dave in bed and struggling to keep his eyes open. Yes, we were sharing a bed. Since 'the incident' – I refused to call it by _that_ word – I was unable to sleep alone. I needed to feel somebody close. I knew that I was safe; Dave was not about to jump me and fuck me senseless, although rather strangely a piece of me wished he actually would!

Yes, I was well into puberty, but those damned hormones were still there, and still raging they were aching to be released. A big chunk of me wanted Dave to love me, but a small part of me was worried that if I pushed him into sex too fast, then I might push him away and he might leave me. Why I was so desperate for sex? I had no idea; considering what had occurred only a week or so ago.

I wanted to remember the last time that I had sex as something positive, not something horrific. Only, I could not bring myself to ask Dave; I felt ashamed about what had happened to me and I was scared that it would just end up with being a pity fuck on his part.

I hated touching myself, even after using the bathroom – and no, I have _never_ touched myself like _that_! I felt horrified about what had occurred between my legs but I had to move on, if I ever wanted a normal _sex_ life – forget a normal life; that was long gone! I still woke up, each night, screaming. Dave tolerated it, including the punching that he received when he tried to hug me.

I owed him and I owed myself, so I finally gave in. Before getting into bed, I dropped the towel and opted to sleep naked.


	2. Moving On

**Author's Note:** _Please be warned that this chapter includes smut (quite a bit) and behaviour that could be seen as indecent (some) and salacious (plenty), including words (no glossary included – use Google if you have to) or insinuations of a dubious, unseemly or suggestive nature, from the outset. (Yes, it is early in the story for sex, but who cares!)_

 _On another note, this chapter puts me over the one million-word mark, for my published stories!_

* * *

 ** _The following morning  
Sunday_**

 ** _Denver, Colorado_**

My eyes almost popped out as I opened them.

There, only a few inches away was a pair of _very_ appealing nipples. Their owner was still fast asleep, her breathing gently raising and lowering her chest at regular intervals. A certain part of me was experiencing a reflexive reaction to what I was seeing. I peered under the duvet and realised that my sleeping companion was completely naked! What had gotten into her?

Then the brazen bitch surprised me even more!

She revealed her gorgeous green eyes and smiled at me, then her face turned pink and she bit her lip. Out of the fucking blue, she seized my left hand and planted it firmly on her right breast. I kept it there; Mindy's chest was _very_ warm and _very_ soft. The nipple was getting harder as I gently moved my palm around on the graceful mound that was Mindy's breast.

"Damn that feels good!" Mindy moaned.

"You're not kidding!"

Mindy giggled.

Mindy giggled...! _That_ was something new.

She threw back the duvet and I took in the beautiful vista before me. Mindy was gorgeous; her body was perfect from top to bottom. Surprisingly, considering her chosen career, her body was completely unmarked. Mindy was blushing as I gazed along her body from end to end.

"You like what you see?" Mindy asked tentatively.

"You're perfect, Mindy..."

Mindy beamed, then frowned.

"You seem surprised."

"Considering the beatings you've taken over the years..."

"My body heals quickly; it always has. I'm just lucky I guess."

"And so am I!"

Mindy blushed even deeper, if that were actually possible.

I gently moved my hand across to the other breast which was then steadily hardening to my touch. Next, I moved my hand down her body across her soft skin and then the hard abs of her stomach. I felt Mindy tense up as I moved further down her body. I stopped just above her pelvic region.

"You can keep going, please..." Mindy stated, lying on her back.

I could see tears in Mindy's eyes. She was not ready, but once Mindy set her mind to something... I knew why she was doing it, so I decided to continue.

"You absolutely sure about this?" I asked gently, bending over to give Mindy a kiss on the lips – she shivered, but smiled at my touch.

"I'm all yours..."

I continued along Mindy's curves and into her soft dark pubic hair. She was still very tense, but she kept perfectly still. My fingers encountered a dampness as I gently rubbed against her outer labia. Mindy began to moan and her hips moved slightly as her legs opened up slowly, allowing my fingers better access. I gently eased a finger between the folds of her labia and Mindy moaned again. I looked up at her face, she was smiling, but I could also see tears on her cheeks.

Mindy looked back at me and she nodded for me to continue.

* * *

Wow! Oh, Wow!

I felt very damp between my legs; was that normal? Dave did _not_ seem to mind! I could not help but wonder if a certain _something else_ could give me more enjoyment than Dave's fingers... I could feel my muscles start to contract and I felt myself starting to shake; I was losing control of my limbs. Damn! The electric shocks that had begun when Dave had first touched my nipples were completely immobilising me!

Dave suddenly lay back, away from me, as I pulled my legs up to my chest so that I could ride out the shocks that continued to course through my body. I could not breathe, for what seemed like hours. Then I screamed; I could not stop myself, and then I took in a huge lung full of refreshing air!

"Fuuuck!" I exclaimed, once I could breathe again. My first _real_ fucking orgasm! It was _so_ much fucking better than the one from that fat bastard...

"You enjoyed, that, didn't you?" Dave asked with a grin.

"What the fuck did you do to me?" I asked and giggled. "That was... Unbelievable!"

"Glad you liked it!" Dave laughed.

* * *

Then Mindy started to cry and she grabbed my arm, hugging me tightly.

"What..." I tried.

It was a few minutes before Mindy had regained control of her emotions. She looked up at me, an embarrassed smile on her face.

"I'm sorry..."

"Mindy – you have nothing to be sorry about."

"Dave, thank you. You just gave me the best orgasm I have ever had. As far as I am concerned, it was my first and it was just perfect."

I hugged Mindy to me, enjoying the warmth that emanated from her silky soft skin and the warmth from her heart. Being together again at that moment was... Indescribable.

..._...

"Dave... Can I err see it, err you...?"

Mindy was blushing furiously as she lay beside me completely naked, resting on her left side, and facing me. I did my best not to laugh at her question.

"Fair is fair, you allowed me to play with you, so..."

I shoved down my shorts, exposing me in all my glory.

"Oh, I never knew... I..."

Mindy lapsed into an embarrassed silence as she stared at my fully erect member.

"What?" I asked, enjoying the rarity of a speechless Mindy.

"I was trying to think of a suitable phrase, but all I could come up with was 'fuck me', but that's not gonna happen..."

"No, it is not," I confirmed.

"... So I'll just stick with, _wow_!"

I laughed at Mindy's amazed expression as she studied me.

"I think I'm about average..."

"You're fucking enormous as far as I am concerned!" Mindy replied with an embarrassed laugh. "Can I touch it, err you...?"

"Just be gentle..."

"You trying to say something?" Mindy bristled.

"Well, Hit Girl isn't exactly known for being gentle – she tends to break things she touches!" I replied with genuine concern for my wellbeing.

Mindy grinned.

"Okay, point taken – I'll be gentle, I promise."

* * *

Wow!

It was both soft, but very hard and it felt almost hot to the touch. I could hear the catches in Dave's breath, each time I caressed the tip. I felt pleased that I could pleasure him as much as he had pleasured me. I kept rubbing and touching, causing Dave to start moaning.

I continued stroking, examining every inch of his genitalia, and then after a couple of minutes or so later, I suddenly heard Dave shout out.

"Oh shit, Mindy I..."

Then, seconds later, I felt a hot substance hit my bare chest. I leapt back, but not before I had received another dose directly in my face and then again on my chest. I felt something dribbling, slowly down my face. It felt... I had no idea what it felt like... Icky I suppose! I licked some of the substance off my lips and swallowed it – salty, yet smooth. My hand, which had not let go of Dave, was covered in a sticky, gooey, mess.

..._...

Dave just lay there, breathing heavily, unable to say anything. I started to giggle and then laughed aloud and all the time I stared at the stuff on my hand. I had really fucking enjoyed it, the taste was a bit weird, though... Nevertheless, I would do it again!

I grabbed some tissues from beside the bed and had a go at cleaning myself off. Dave looked up and the fucker laughed!

"You look a little sticky, Mindy!" Dave said, with a smirk.

"You could have fucking hinted about... This stuff..." I said, indicating the sticky stuff, currently dribbling down my body.

"Sorry!" Dave laughed. "You caused it!"

"I suppose I did!" I agreed.

* * *

 ** _Two days later  
Tuesday_**

I felt myself being shaken, violently.

Why could I not just be left to sleep! I was _so_ tired... I opened one eye and tried to glare at my tormentor.

"Hey, sleepy head – you're sixteen!"

"What?"

"Today is a certain young lady's birthday..."

I never let Dave finish as I suddenly came fully awake!

"Fuck me, I'm sixteen!"

Dave laughed as I jumped up, stark naked – yes I had started sleeping naked – so sue me!

"I didn't know you knew about my birthday..."

"I know a lot of things about my favourite girl!" Dave responded indignantly.

Oh God, I was blushing madly. I bit my lip and then hesitated. Dave grinned – he was winding me up – cunt!

"I've not got you anything for your birthday, not yet – it's been kinda hectic."

I knew that, but I still loved him for knowing about my birthday.

* * *

Around nine, we went out and had a 'birthday' breakfast.

Mindy was still feeling giddy! According to the papers, somebody had killed some drug dealers and blown their drug den to smithereens. Mindy smirked and tried to look innocent. I just grimaced and concentrated on my pancakes and bacon.

..._...

On the way back to the hotel, I threw Mindy my cell.

"What do I need this for?"

"'Cause you're gonna be using it in about five minutes!"

"Huh? Tell me!"

"Nope."

"I'll gut you like a fucking pig!"

"Nope."

"I'll fuck you up so you can't fucking walk!"

"Nope."

"I'll… Oh, fuck, just tell me!"

"Nope."

"Tell me or I rip your throat out!"

"Nope."

Right on queue my cell rang.

"Answer it, dumbass!" I suggested.

"Hello," Mindy asked, hesitantly and then there was a pause. "Marcus!"

The smile on Mindy's face was enormous.

..._...

Well over an hour later, Mindy handed back my phone.

There were tears in her eyes, tears of joy.

"Thank you, Dave!" Mindy said, giving me a kiss.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"Never better."

* * *

 ** _That night_**

"I want you... Dave..." I felt myself get hot, as I blushed furiously.

"Are you _absolutely_ sure? I definitely wouldn't say no; I love you, but that is why I'm asking, because I _do_ love you," Dave cautioned. "You've been through a hell of a lot; are you ready for that?"

I blushed again and I felt all warm and tingly inside. He _really_ cared and he really cared about _me_! Dave was the only person alive, who did not care if I was Hit Girl or Mindy Macready. He cared for me whoever I was.

"I want you now, Dave," I said as I looked into his hypnotic blue eyes.

It was there, I could see the happiness, the love, the desire. The desire that he had for _me_.

I squealed!

"Are you sure?" Dave persisted with a concerned look on his face and I knew what he meant.

Dave never brought up 'the incident' and I never did, either.

"Yes. It feels right," I replied and smiled up at Dave, with a very suggestive expression.

* * *

We started on the floor of all places, where we kissed passionately.

Dave pulled off my shirt, then my bra and gently teased my nipples with his fingers. I felt all sorts of emotions, not all of them good, but I sorted through them and shoved the bad emotions and their attached memories down deep.

Oh God, the electric shocks again, running down my body from nipple to, the now very damp place, between my legs. My breathing started to hitch and it felt _so_ good, damn him. His soft lips began to caress my neck, tickling me, as they moved over my skin, ever closer to what passed as my very limited cleavage. The lips moved down and stopped at my breast, before easing themselves over my right nipple. The electric shocks that were being produced were almost unbearable. I could feel his hand on my stomach and I shuddered at his touch.

I squealed!

I could not help it. Dave kept pressing buttons, again and again, and things just happened, for fuck's sake. The electric shocks were getting steadily worse, but dammit, they felt _so_ good!

"More! Dammit, I need more!" I shouted without realising it. I bit my lip and felt more than a bit embarrassed.

"You want more!" Dave responded enthusiastically as he picked me up from the floor and threw me onto the bed.

I giggled as I fell; I loved it – I loved the violent treatment!

"Do you want Mindy or Hit Girl, tonight?" I asked.

"What's the difference?" Dave replied.

I loved my man; he saw me for what I really was. He saw me as both Mindy _and_ Hit Girl; he did _not_ distinguish between the two.

Dave kicked off his shoes, and then pulled off his shirt and trousers. He knelt down on the bed, knees either side of me and gently undid my pants and slid them down my legs. He threw the pants to one side before jumping on top of me and he started to kiss me from my forehead, past my chest and stomach, down to my...

I yelped; a rather strange noise to make, I thought, but I was then distracted as I felt my panties slide down my legs.

Dave was kissing me, just below my belly button and he began to descend into my pubic hair. Then I froze as I felt his tongue at the top of my labia. His fingers gently eased me open and then his tongue began to move in and out, caressing my lower lips something wonderful. He moved upwards to the top of my labia. The electric shocks got faster and much closer together causing me to thrash about on the bed.

My fists were clenched, I could not keep my hips still and I could not fucking breathe. Suddenly instinct told me to bring my legs up to my chest and I hugged them tightly. I felt like I was having a fucking seizure, every part of my pelvic region burned. I screamed and only then was I able to take in a breath of air. Damn those orgasms – that had to be the biggest one yet!

"Bloody hell!" I screamed.

Dave had found Hit Girl's only weakness!

"Fuck me, Dave. I need you in me!" I begged. "Please!"

"You're absolutely sure?" Dave asked, seriously.

"Fucking cock it and stick it in me, Ass-Kick!" I growled and laughed as Dave reached over and opened the drawer, beside the bed. He brought out a condom; it was green and yellow!

"Sorry, I couldn't find purple," Dave explained apologetically.

"Close enough; it looks like Kick-Ass!" I said and I began to giggle uncontrollably.

..._...

I pulled Dave's shorts off and helped roll the condom onto him.

I was feeling apprehensive now. What was this going to feel like? That was quite a big thing to stick inside me! Would it fit? Would it hurt? I had not seen that bastard's cock, so I had no idea how big it was.

Dave lay down on top of me and gently inserted himself. It felt better than in that warehouse and Dave was very gentle and it felt good. It started to feel better, the more he moved and the faster he moved. Images began to appear in my mind from 'the incident', but I banished them away and concentrated on that single moment. I kept my eyes open and stared into Dave's eyes, using him for support. My breathing started to hitch again. The electric shocks began again, originating at my crotch and rushing up to my breasts, as Dave massaged them with his fingers. My nipples were hypersensitive, more than I had ever felt before.

I squealed, out of control.

God, I must have sounded ridiculous. What the fuck might they be thinking in the room next door! Nevertheless, dammit, it was worth it! The shocks started coming closer together like a machine gun changing from single-shot to full automatic. Dave was groaning and his eyes were tight shut. My fists were clenched and pounding his back, hard. Dave went faster and harder, the shocks became faster and sharper – Dave was like a fucking Gatling! I started to get short of breath and I could not focus on anything but surviving the shear enjoyment of what was happening to me at that moment.

Suddenly Dave froze and a moment later, I felt him pulsing inside me as the orgasm hit like a magnitude 10.0 earthquake in my crotch. It hit full fucking strength and way stronger than anything that I had experienced to that point!

"Fuck, oh Fuck, oh fuck! I can't..." I screamed.

Dave collapsed on top of me before he rolled to one side. I felt a tremor inside me as he pulled out. The electric shocks were still strong and still building. It felt _so_ good, _so_ fucking good. Dave, what the fuck did you do to me? I could not fucking move, my legs were numb and my crotch was on fire. My heart was pounding, pounding for Dave. I clenched my eyes shut tight, to ride out the aftershocks that still coursed through me.

"You fucker!" It was all that I could say, once I was finally capable of something resembling speech.

"Huh?" Dave muttered as he breathed heavily.

"You fucking almost killed me! Fuck, it was good!" I stammered. "I never fucking knew!"

Dave leaned over and kissed me, and then he pulled the duvet up over us. I turned and smiled back at him. I could look straight at him in bed, unlike when he was standing up. I kissed him back.

"I love you, Dave."

"I love you, Mindy."

* * *

 ** _The following morning  
Wednesday_**

It was time to leave Denver.

We had a destination – of a sort. Somewhere on the west coast would be useful – the climate was not too bad and it would be a completely new start for us both.

We packed our gear into the car with no name and headed west.


	3. New City

**_Three weeks later_**

 ** _Seattle, Washington State  
Pacific Northwest_**

Seattle is a West Coast seaport city and the seat of King County in the State of Washington. It is also the largest city in both the State and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The Canadian border is about one hundred miles to the north.

We had arrived in the city, almost two weeks previously and our first task had been to find somewhere to live. It had to be cheap, but comfortable and nothing that would attract attention. We spent two days driving about, but then we found the ideal little starter property in the southern suburbs of the city.

That gave us a base, somewhere we could call home; somewhere we would be safe. We also had a lot of work to do, if Seattle was to be our new base of operations.

West coast vigilantes, that was us, and we were going to kick ass!

* * *

 ** _Boulevard Park_**

It was small, but compact and functional – kinda like Mindy!

The place was comfortable and we would be able to call it home for a few months. The property was clad in blue clapboards. The front door opened directly into the living room, which was bright and airy with hardwood flooring and large windows. It even had a real wood fire! A small dining room led out onto a large balcony. The kitchen was functional and well fitted out.

Off the kitchen was the second bedroom in the corner of the property. There was another bedroom and a bathroom on the floor. Downstairs in the basement or lower level, was the master bedroom and a den that led out into the back yard beneath the balcony. The master bedroom had a real wood fire, too. There was also a walk in cupboard and a bathroom with a drench shower, which was more of a wet room.

To us it was home and our own bed for the first time in weeks.

* * *

 ** _Wednesday morning  
November 25th_**

The music started thumping as I closed the door behind me.

 _Risin' up, back on the street  
Did my time, took my chances  
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet  
Just a man and his will to survive_

 _So many times, it happens too fast  
You trade your passion for glory  
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past  
You must fight just to keep them alive_

I headed downstairs to the den just as the chorus began.

 _It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight  
Risin' up to the challenge of our rivals  
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night  
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger_

Mindy was resolutely pounding the punch bag into oblivion, sweat pouring off her. Each punch was in time to the music. Mindy was determined to get herself back into shape. As far as _I_ was concerned Mindy's body was perfect, but then I was biased! Mindy had admitted that her fitness had lapsed while she had 'gone feral', as she called it, in Chicago.

Mindy span around as I approached and she almost landed a punch into my throat, but she caught it, only a few inches from what would have been a lot of pain. She grinned and kissed me, standing on her toes. Then she grabbed the remote and dropped the volume by about ninety percent.

"You're looking good."

"I still have a ways to go until I'm as fit as I was when we took out Chris and his minions."

"You're looking good," I repeated.

"You always think I look good – even when I'm covered in blood!"

* * *

 ** _That night_**

I awoke with a start.

I was trapped; something was wrapped round me. I started to freak out, but I pushed the feelings down and concentrated on freeing myself. I wriggled an arm free and shoved the elbow back behind me, hard. There was a grunting from behind me and I realised with a start that it was arms, which were pinning me.

My captor did not respond, so I sprang up out of the grip and found my captor was lying down. I landed astride him and raised my right arm, fist formed to punch the living daylights out of him. My captor looked up at me and smiled.

"I like the position and I _love_ the view, but fucking ow!"

I froze for a moment and turned to look at my raised fist. I then looked down at the man who had spoken.

"Oh, my God, Dave!"

* * *

Mindy jumped up, grabbed her robe and ran out of the bedroom.

Being attacked by a naked young woman, which while being a fantasy of mine, was entertaining, I knew what was happening right at that moment. I jumped out of bed, grabbed my own robe and ran after Mindy.

I found her in the living room, curled up on the couch. Tears ran down her face. I sat down beside her and pulled her towards me, but she resisted.

"Dave, leave me alone, please."

"Never..."

"I'm dangerous..."

"Tell me something I don't know!"

"Dave!"

"What?"

"I could have killed you..."

"But you didn't – I can look after myself, you know. You're going through a lot of shit, right now. It has only been a month – give yourself time and it _will_ take time."

"I know; I just never want to hurt you..."

"That would be a first!"

"You fucking know what I mean, asshole!"

"Mindy, shut up!"

Mindy blinked and was about to retort, but I never gave her a chance as I pulled her into a deep kiss. I felt her tears on my face as she continued to cry, but this time with happiness, instead of frustration.

* * *

 ** _Three days later  
Saturday_**

Apparently, we were not alone in Seattle.

I know there are actually another 662,400 or so people in the City, but I meant that there was another vigilante on the loose! It was a she and she seemed to be for good. She wore black, black combat trousers, a black t-shirt, black combat boots and a black leather hooded top. Her identity was protected by a black domino mask that surrounded her eyes. We had no idea of her hair colour. However, we knew that the girl was probably teenaged.

For weapons, she seemed to carry a Ka-Bar knife in a sheath on her left boot and a pistol in a holster on her right thigh – probably a small Beretta of some sort, maybe either a 92 Compact or the PX4 Storm Compact. Her main weapon was a lethal compound bow and she carried a black quiver of arrows on her back.

We had come across the vigilante, twice. Both times we had tried to communicate, but she had run off. The latest time, she had jumped onto a black Honda XR650L motorcycle and shot off at speed, but we had not pursued her.

* * *

 ** _Washington Park Arboretum  
Saturday Night_**

Hit Girl was in Seattle!

That was a shock to say the least... Kick-Ass too! Why was I avoiding them? I was not sure whether to trust Hit Girl, but Kick-Ass – he was trustworthy, I had seen what he had done in New York – helping out with the Justice Forever people. Hit Girl was supposed to be just a rumour, but now I had seen her with my very own eyes, right down to her purple wig.

I was nothing compared to those two. I had only been running about as a vigilante for a couple of months. I sucked at it, too! It was dangerous, lonely and scary. Sometimes it was fun, though and I did get to help people from time to time.

I now had a difficult decision to make. Should I try to meet them? Alternatively, should I just keep avoiding them? I was fifteen, almost sixteen, but I still had a lot to learn. Maybe Hit Girl and Kick-Ass could teach me a thing or two.

The past year had sucked, big time. A year ago, I had been living in New York City with my Mom and Dad – they were with the NYPD. However, due to a family disagreement with my Uncle, we ended up being forced to move three-thousand miles to the far side of the country. I hated it; I had left all my friends and I was now very alone.

..._...

It was dark as I approached the ghost-ramp just off Lake Washington Boulevard East.

There was nobody around as I span the combination lock and heaved open the heavy steel door of the twenty-foot container. I quickly unlocked the interior sliding door, slid it open and heaved the steel door closed behind me, locking it from the inside.

Only then did I flick the light switch, bathing the inside of the container in light. To my right was a sofa bed that pulled out to form a functional, if not comfortable, double bed. I rarely pulled it out, but just slept on it with a quilt and pillow.

Beyond the sofa bed was a small mini kitchen on the right, a square table with two chairs opposite and a bathroom with a shower beyond.

Opposite the sofa bed was my Honda XR650L motorcycle, ready to go. Beside it sat my quiver of arrows. Above, mounted on the wall was a rack that held my pistol, my compound bow, knives and ammunition.

..._...

Where did I get the money for it all? I took it off criminals. I had to admit it was like having my own personal ATM! On top of that, wall-mounted rack, I currently had about fifteen thousand bucks. I had bought the container, the motorcycle and the weapons. I had discovered that you could buy almost anything you needed – age was no barrier apparently!

I stripped off and prepared myself for the night's activities. The ideas was to where nothing that might identify me. I pulled on a black sport's bra and panties, followed by my combat trousers and a t-shirt. I pulled on my black lightweight combat boots; they had a zip up the inside, which made securing them quick and easy.

The body armour was next, which took the form of a black Kevlar vest – I had found the vest lying about at home and borrowed it... As I tightened the Velcro straps around my abdomen, I tried to ignore _why_ I was wearing a stab and bullet resistant vest.

Finally, I pulled on my black-leather hooded top, my gloves, and my domino mask. I checked myself out in the mirror – I was ready.

I reached up to the rack and pulled out a Ka-Bar knife, inserting it into the sheath on, my left boot. Then came my Beretta PX4 Storm Compact pistol in nine-millimetre. I checked the weapon was clear and then inserted a fifteen-round magazine, but I did not chamber a round before placing the weapon into the holster on my right thigh.

I picked up my quiver, slipping it over my back. I seized my bow, checked it and slotted it into its mount on the left side of my motorcycle. One final check of everything and I turned off the lights. I unlocked the steel door, pushed it open and then wheeled my motorcycle out of the door. I locked everything up and took a deep breath before mounting and starting the Honda.

I rode out onto 26th Avenue East before joining the SR 520 west. A couple of miles later I turned off just before the I-5 Expressway. My aim for the night was to patrol Fairview Avenue East, running down the east side of Lake Union.

* * *

 ** _Later that night_**

 ** _Fairview Avenue East_**

"Well look what we have here!"

"If it isn't our junior varsity vigilante!" I chuckled.

She – we did not even know her name – had not seen us yet as we were hiding in the shadows. She was climbing off her motorcycle and she was watching the same group of idiots that we were.

"Should we...?" Kick-Ass asked.

"Let's see what she's got, first..."

..._...

As we watched, she pulled out her compound bow and notched an arrow.

That was when we saw the idiots – about eight men – moving towards a group of four women. The women looked like they were just back from an evening out in Seattle. While Kick-Ass kept an eye on the men and the women, I watched our young vigilante, studying her movements and actions.

"Leave us alone!" One of the women shouted as the men began to harass them.

"Do not tell me what do, slut!" One of the men yelled back, slapping the woman around the face.

That was when things turned ugly. The women tried to run, but they were each grabbed and thrown to the ground where they started to scream as their clothing was ripped from them.

"Stop!" A voice yelled.

It was a strange electronic sounding voice – a cross between HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey and C-3PO from Star Wars. Nobody seemed to hear her, so she raised her bow and sent an arrow thudding into a tree beside one of the men, quickly nothing another arrow. Our mystery vigilante suddenly had the assembled crowd's full attention.

"Leave those women alone!"

"Who the fuck says?" Another man yelled back.

"I do!"

"Why the fuck should we listen to you?"

"I am Strongbow," – one question answered – "and I have the pointy arrows, so move away from the women..."

"Isn't that a cider or something?" A voice asked.

"Fuck you!" Strongbow replied and I smiled at her attitude.

"I 'ain't movin', so you do your worst bitch!" The first man, obviously the leader, laughed.

I saw Strongbow minutely alter the aim of her bow and release the next arrow. The arrow struck the man's right foot, penetrating right the way through and pinning the man to the blacktop. He fell down screaming bloody murder and grasping his bleeding foot. I approved!

The other men began to scatter, but two remained with their leader. They both drew large knives and they advanced on Strongbow who instead of notching another arrow, ran forwards where she disarmed one man with a classic disarming manoeuvre and kicked the leg out from under the other man and punching him hard in the face.

..._...

Unfortunately, her attention was too focussed on her attackers and she never saw the leader reach behind his back and pull out a large pistol. He aimed it directly at Strongbow's back. I ran forwards with Kick-Ass immediately behind.

"Strongbow get down!" I yelled as I drew a SIG and sent two shots into the asshole.

I was pleased to see that Strongbow reacted instantly to my command as she ducked and rolled to one side, bringing up what I recognised to be a Beretta PX4 Storm Compact pistol. Her assailant fell to the ground with two new holes in his side from my SIG. I ran over to the women who had not moved as everything had happened so fast.

"Are you all okay?" I growled.

"Yeah, I think so..." One said and I received nods from the others. "Thank you."

"It's Strongbow who you need to thank," I reminded them as I strolled away.

Kick-Ass held out a hand to Strongbow, who took it and allowed herself to be helped back to her feet, holstering her pistol.

"Good evening, Strongbow, some nice moves," I growled.

"Err, thanks."

Strongbow smiled and then she turned and ran back to her motorcycle and as before, she accelerated away, fast.

* * *

 ** _Washington Park Arboretum_**

Well that had been a fun night!

As I pulled off my hooded top, mask and gloves, I sat down on the sofa bed and pulled off my body armour. The vest was _not_ very comfortable, but I knew that it would have kept me alive if the worst had happened that night. I hung it up beside the door along with my top.

As far as my Mom was concerned, I was sleeping over with a friend, and not as I was at that moment, undressing in a steel container underneath a ghost-ramp. I stowed my knife, pistol and my compound hunting bow into the rack mounted high on the steel across from the sofa bed. Under the rack, I stowed my quiver that I had taken off as soon as I had returned to what I jokingly called a 'safe house'.

I checked that my motorcycle was secure, below the rack and then after pulling off my boots, pants and socks, I laid down on the sofa bed and pulled a quilt over me. If nothing else, I was tired.

I fell asleep very quickly.


	4. Seattle Expansion

**_One week later  
Friday afternoon  
December 4th_**

 ** _Renton, Seattle_**

December had dawned and we had our new business!

A Circle K, Gas Station and store. It was located on a busy intersection in the City of Renton, a suburb of Seattle. Sunset Boulevard was constantly full of traffic almost 24-7.

Dave and I drove over in our new F150 truck. We needed gas so we pulled up and filled the tank before parking beside the store. Dave led the way in and we headed to the counter. Behind the counter was a large black woman with an enormous smile.

"Hi, folks!"

"You must be Irene," Dave said, holding out his hand. "Dave Lizewski and this is Mindy."

"You're the new Bosses!" Irene commented. "Yes, I'm Irene Sandford and I take the day shift, six till five!"

"Pleased to meet you."

"I'll show you both around and then we can talk about the staffing levels..."

* * *

 ** _New York_**

"Marcus! We've bought a gas station!"

"A gas station?"

"It's a Circle-K and..."

Mindy spoke almost non-stop for another half-hour.

"... I just need to hire another member of staff, maybe a school kid," Mindy finished.

An idea started to form in my mind.

"I hope you find somebody..."

* * *

 ** _Two days later  
Sunday morning_**

 ** _Boulevard Park_**

"You look a little stressed..."

"I am – I've got job interviews this morning, which kinda sucks!"

"It's gotta be done, Mindy and you're a good judge of character – just don't go killing anybody!"

"Funny, Dave – really funny!"

He was _not_ helping!

* * *

 ** _Two hours later_**

 ** _Renton Circle-K_**

The girl walked into the office – she was number fourteen!

I was almost comatose with listening to people's life stories. If this girl was no good, then I was going to scream!

"Hi, I'm Juliette Atkinson."

The girl was tall, maybe about five-foot-five and thinly built. Her hair was dark brown and came down to just below her shoulders where it was currently hanging naturally.

"Welcome; I'm Mindy – please take a seat..."

I waited for the girl to sit and get comfortable.

"Nervous?" I asked, smiling and gauging the girl before me.

"A little – I've never had a job before, let alone a job interview..."

The girl was refreshingly honest and she seemed very genuine. Her character was gentle, but firm and I sensed that she appeared to be trustworthy.

"Tell me about yourself..."

"I'm fifteen – sixteen in December. I like sports – mainly some of the Martial Arts..."

* * *

 ** _Forty minutes later_**

"You're hired!" I said with a grin. "Five till seven, Monday to Friday and six hours on Saturday. How's that sound?"

"Awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Juliette seemed pleased, but then so was I! I was seriously glad _that_ was all over. I showed Juliette out and went over to talk to Irene.

"New girl?" She asked with a grin as she saw my pleased expression.

"Number fifteen! Anybody else turns up, tell 'em the jobs gone... I'm going home!"

"See you tomorrow, Boss!"

"See ya, Irene."

* * *

 ** _SE 46th Way, Bellevue_**

I burst through the door with a crash.

"Juliette, calm down, what have I told you about barging around like that!"

"Sorry, Mom – I've got the job!" I blurted out.

"Wonderful, Juliette. I'm really pleased for you, when do you start?"

"Tomorrow evening at five."

* * *

 ** _The following afternoon  
Monday_**

 ** _East Marginal Way_**

Dave unlocked the door, pushing it open.

"Homely!"

The building had two sections. The entrance opened into office space on two floors. We walked down a short passageway and then through a set of double doors.

"It smells!" I commented, screwing up my nose.

Dave laughed and went to find a light switch. Seconds later, several arc lights flickered to life in the roof. The slowly brightening lights illuminated a large open space. Over to our left and our right were a pair of large roller shutter doors. The place was open plan and had been used as a shipping base for a trucking company.

"A lick of paint here, maybe a grenade there – it'll be good as new!" Dave quipped.

"I'd go for six-pounds of C4!" I groused.

"You said the location was ideal; good access to the freeway and the river. Not to mention a direct route into Seattle."

"I did – we'll take it. Safehouse A – Seattle!"

* * *

 ** _The next morning  
Tuesday_**

 ** _Seattle-Tacoma International Airport_**

 ** _Arrivals_**

"He _is_ going to kill you!"

"Never gonna happen!"

"Dave..."

"Can it, short-ass!"

I grinned as Mindy grumbled away beside me – she hated me putting her down, but in the middle of a busy Arrivals terminal at an international airport, she could do nothing! A few minutes later, a familiar face appeared lugging a large holdall.

"Are you kidding me?" He laughed when he saw my hand-written sign. "Am I never gonna live that down?"

"Doesn't look like it, _Batman_!" I replied, giving my best friend a hug.

"So, you must be Mindy..."

"Yes, Marty, I am."

"You look good in the flesh, so to speak!" Marty quipped with a grin. "We never actually met before, at school I mean."

I saw Mindy go pink, but she said nothing, just grinned.

* * *

 ** _Boulevard Park_**

"Nice place!"

"Thanks, Marty!"

"Mindy, it really is good to see you safe, and as you. Dave was beside himself with worry and I was only too glad to be able to help," Marty said, before whispering theatrically. "I kind of figured out your secret identity, sorry..."

I laughed.

"You need anything, ever, from me – you let me know," Mindy stated seriously.

"I will, Mindy."

"I mean, _anything_ , from Mindy Macready, _or_... _Her_."

"I will Mindy," Marty repeated.

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

 ** _Renton Circle-K_**

"Nice place!" Marty exclaimed as we pulled up.

I led Marty inside and straight to the counter.

"Hi, Boss!" Juliette called out from behind the counter.

"Boss?" Marty queried.

"Juliette just started yesterday – I keep telling her to call me Mindy, but whoever listens to me?" I grumbled good naturedly.

"Not me!" Dave quipped.

"Juliette, this is Marty, a friend of ours. Please make him welcome and chuck anything he buys, including gas, on my tab. Oh, and please call me Mindy, okay."

"Yes, Boss."

* * *

 ** _Two nights later  
Thursday_**

 ** _Lower Seattle_**

"That fucking hurt!"

I rubbed where the bullet had struck as I observed my shooter bleeding out on the black top form the hole in his head. The night had gone well until that moment! Kick-Ass had been facing away, checking my back and I had been distracted by the victim. The cunt had pulled out a concealed backup-piece and shot me in the chest. I hated being shot in the fucking chest!

"If that cunt bruised my tit, I'll fucking kill him!" I growled to myself and Kick-Ass chuckled.

The victim was a young woman in the wrong place at the wrong time, a simple mugging gone badly wrong.

"You're safe now, ma'am, he'll hurt nobody else. Don't forget your purse. 'Night ma'am," Kick-Ass said as he helped the woman to her feet.

* * *

 ** _Safehouse A_**

The place was still a shell, but it at least gave us somewhere to change and hide our 'equipment'.

"We need some better suits – these kinda suck. They've done their job, but we need something stronger," Dave suggested.

"I have to agree. I love my costume, I really do, but it is a part of a previous life, two actually."

I felt myself smiling inside.

"New suits – oh this is going to be so much fun!"

"I assume they won't be cheap if we're going for something good..."

My initial excitement drifted slightly at that thought.

"Decent combat suits might cost upwards of fifty grand _each_ , easily," I commented sourly.

"Well, we'll just have to see if anybody would like to donate!" Dave suggested.

"Yeah, I like that idea..."

* * *

The next few nights were spent gathering cash.

We had a Safehouse to setup, new combat suits to design and order. Mindy also had ideas for new weapons and we also needed new vehicles, too. I was pleased to find that there were many willing contributors to our fund! Well, maybe not so willing, but as a general rule dead drug dealers didn't need the cash anymore...!

Marty was busy working on the Safehouse. He was planning security and a host of computer systems that would make our lives easier, including advanced communications equipment. All that was going to cost big money, but Mindy had given him a large six-figure budget to play with as he set things up.

We were determined to do it right and give ourselves room to expand. We were going for 'Professional' and not 'Kick-Ass Mark One'! Above all we had to keep each other alive. Marty wanted to make a new start for himself. New York was full of bad memories for him, or so he said, although something told me that he was not telling me everything. Anyhow he was happy to move from one side of the country to another to be with us and Mindy and I were very grateful.

Mindy spent hours, literally, staring at motorcycle websites – I'm sure she was actually drooling at one stage and I did notice that she changed her panties at least once while she was studying the KTM, Triumph and Ducati websites!

While Mindy was looking for suitable two-wheeled transport, I was looking for something with four-wheels. Between us all, we managed to put together several designs for combat suits. Mindy suggested that we should get one for Marty, but he had refused. He insisted that he was not ready for anything like that, but he would think about it. He liked the idea of training with us, too.

The new Safehouse would have accommodation and storage to allow for our vigilante activities and it would provide security for us in case of emergency. We allowed for the future and there were facilities to feed and sleep about ten people at most. The majority of the building was given over to training space and vehicle storage and maintenance. We were planning to have a large, two storey armoury, a Command Centre and a Briefing Space.

Dave and I would have our own personal bedroom with attached bathroom. The ground floor office space would not have anything that might give us away; it was a front and was linked to the company that owned the Circle-K. It would give the building a reason for being and also a reason for us to be visiting the place.

It would all take time to assemble and we knew that it would not be ready before the new year.

* * *

 ** _Boulevard Park_**

Mindy was buzzing with activity.

Marty thought it very funny and we both teased Mindy as much as we dared as she planned and swigged Red Bull by the gallon! She was enjoying herself and I was genuinely pleased to see a smile on her face, at least during the day. The nights though were still a problem. Marty had asked what was going on when he had been awoken by Mindy's screaming one night.

Mindy had consented to me telling Marty almost everything. By the end of my forty-minute expose on Mindy's attack in Chicago, Marty was shocked and had absolutely no idea how to respond.

"Mindy, I... Wow... Jesus... I..."

Mindy smiled and gave him a hug.

"Thanks to you, Marty, Dave was close by to save me – without you, I would have died there. It was horrible and even now, weeks later... I'm just glad that I have friends to help me through it all..."

"Mindy, I... Anything I can do to help and... I feel humbled that you entrust me with those events..."

"Marty, you know who I am, who I _really_ am. I trust you and you needed to know what happened as it has affected how we operate. I am emotionally strong, I have been trained to bury shit like that away and carry on, but I am struggling with it and it will take time."

"Did you _really_ bite off that bastard's cock and kill those men, butt naked?" Marty asked.

"Oh yeah!" I said with a nod. "It was one awesome sight. I've seen Hit Girl killing many times – but butt naked and covered in blood..."

Mindy was blushing, badly, so I decided we should all go to bed before she killed somebody!


	5. Suits of Awesomeness

**_The following week  
Wednesday evening_**

I was heading home when I received the call.

"They're back again, Boss and they've already smashed a window..."

"Hold on, Irene. I'm coming to finish it!" I growled back, putting my foot down.

Six minutes later I raced through the intersection before skidding the truck to a stop, executing a full one-eighty. I jumped out and stalked towards the loud-mouthed youths who were blockading my business.

"This ends now!" I yelled out, pushing my way through to the cunt at the door who was holding a baseball bat.

"Who the fuck are you, short stuff?"

"I own this place and I want you and your merry-men off my property!" I demanded.

"I like it here..."

There was general laughter from the other teens present. All were over sixteen and some were girls. The leader waved his bat in my face – a bad move! Ten seconds later the man was on his back, his bat in his mouth and my foot on his balls.

"Now, cunt – do I crush these eggs, or do you wanna keep them. Maybe I should do the world a favour and prevent you from reproducing!" I snarled.

"Fuck you!"

I kicked him in the kidney, hard!

"You fucking bitch!" He whimpered.

"You want this _inside_ your head?" I enquired, pointing the bat between his eyes making him go cross-eyed.

The man shook his head and I took a step back just as Police sirens started to get closer and the youths fled. It was over. I went inside to check on Irene – nothing seemed to phase _her_! She said that she would arrange for the glass to be replaced and I thanked her for calling me.

I went outside to talk to the Police and then headed home. Telling Dave about the event was _not_ going to be fun!

* * *

 ** _That weekend_**

 ** _Boulevard Park_**

Mindy squealed as she ripped open the packaging.

I did not think that I had ever seen her so excited! She pulled out the contents of the large packing case and I had to admit, I was intrigued too. We had ordered the new combat suits a few weeks previously from some secret place that Mindy knew about from her Dad.

As far as I could see, it was a multi-coloured pile of body armour. Most of it was black, but I could see purple, yellow and green amongst it all. I helped Mindy to sort out the individually wrapped packages into two piles – Kick-Ass and Hit Girl. We then converted each pile into parts of a combat suit, laid out ready for inventory and checking.

The suits had been very expensive, so Mindy wanted to be sure that everything was present. We hoped that the suits would help us bring in more operating funds.

Being a vigilante was _not_ cheap!

* * *

Naturally, Hit Girl was first.

She unashamedly stripped off down to sports bra, shorts and a thin t-shirt. She then started to pull on the combat suit, with my help.

First came the pants. They were tight fitting and had a padded inside, which was designed to absorb impacts from bullets, blades and other implements. The pants were black with integrated purple kneepads that were trimmed with a dull pink. There was additional armour on the outside of the thighs wrapping around from the outside, across the front to around the inside of the knees.

"These feel good," Mindy commented.

She looked good too, but I said nothing, I just smiled.

I handed over the jacket, which was black, with purple shoulder pads. It zipped up the front, right to the top of her slender neck. Across her chest was attached the some black and purple flexible armour. Around her waist went another piece of flexible armour, this time in a tartan colour scheme. Her lower arms were protected by additional armour on the outside, extending from the wrist to the elbow. The armour was purple, trimmed in a dull pink. On her hands, she wore tight fitting black gauntlets that had purple and pink armour on each finger and knuckle.

"You look awesome, Mindy!"

Mindy blushed!

I passed over her utility belt, which wrapped around the waist. The belt was hung with pouches for communications equipment, spare magazines and other items. Into each of the twin pistol holsters went a SIG Sauer P320 nine-millimetre Compact pistol. Into the pouches went a pair of suppressors and a pair of combined flashlights/laser sights.

Next came her boots. These were light, but solid. The foot of the boot was black, while the armoured uppers were coloured purple and trimmed with a dull pink. In the left boot was an eight-inch knife.

All that was left was the mask. It was different from the previous mask in many ways. There was no more domino mask, nor a wig. Instead the mask was one piece and of a black and purple design. The right side of her mask was purple, the other black. Her face was covered down to the bridge of her nose and her cheekbones, the bottom edge of the mask forming a 'W' over her nose and around her eyes. Out of the back of her mask, extended a long purple ponytail that extended down to her shoulder blades.

"Don't forget this..."

I passed over a thin, flowing cape. The outside was a dark purple, the inside, black. It clipped on around her neck and hung down to just behind her knees.

On the back of her suit, angled out at the shoulders were two scabbards for her new melee weapons. These were a pair of vicious looking custom swords with a long razor-sharp edge and a lethal point. The blades were almost two-foot long, with ten-inch hilts.

The two swords could be joined together to form a single bō-staff.

* * *

Then it was Kick-Ass' turn.

I loved watching him strip off; it was awesome and Dave never seemed to mind me looking! We had obtained an awesome, if bulky, combat suit for Kick-Ass. It would accentuate his strength and instil fear in all those that saw him – criminals at least. It should also instil hope into the innocent.

Dave pulled on a pair of black pants, padded in a similar way to my own. Next came the jacket, which was black with integrated green elbow pads. The jacket zipped up at the front to his neck. Then came the boots. The boots were light, but armoured and had integrated calf pads to protect his lower legs. These were green with a dull yellow trim. The calf pads connected to green and yellow kneepads. On the outside of his left boot, an eight-inch, wickedly sharp knife was stowed.

An armoured over-jacket came next. This protected his front and back with additional composite armour. Integrated with this was shoulder protection, which extended down as far as his elbows on the outer surface of his upper arms.

Around his waist, he secured a utility belt that was festooned with pouches, similar to my own, for communication equipment ammunition and accessories for his weapons. The belt also supported thigh armour, which extended down to his knees. The armour was secured around his legs just above the knees. On these were holsters for a pair of full-size SIG Sauer P320 .45-calibre pistols.

His hands fitted snugly into gauntlets that had green and yellow armour running up the outside of his lower arm.

On his back were mountings for his new batons. These were each twenty-inches long and were made from titanium and carbon-fibre. They were very light, but also hard-hitting. The two batons were also capable of joining to form a forty-inch jō-staff.

Lastly came the mask.

The mask was green and yellow, split vertically down the front. It was full face and covered the head completely. The eyes were protected by a scratch-resistant polymer that also matched his eye prescription.

* * *

We both studied each other's combat suits, examining them closely.

I was impressed. My suit was bulky, but not overly heavy. I could move easily in it, too. Hit Girl – well she looked as awesome as ever! I watched as she performed several backflips and twists, checking out the flexibility of her new suit. By her smiles, I thought she approved of her new attire.

I _definitely_ approved. The suit accentuated her increasingly feminine figure, her curves carefully acknowledged in a non-sexual way.

To add to our weapons and to give us less to carry around, we had obtained a conversion system that would allow us to convert our SIG SAUER pistols into Personal Defence Weapons, or PDWs. The system was from FAB Defense and our pistols would lock inside the conversion kit. The weapon system had a folding stock, fore-grip and a top sight for targeting, plus a flashlight and laser sight.

We could convert the weapons in just seconds as required.

* * *

There was one final change to our repertoire.

We needed better transport. We needed suitable vehicles to ease our getting into and out of trouble. I missed my Panigale, but for now, I had a new challenge to ride. We headed down to the garage where our rides were waiting.

I had selected a Supersport motorcycle – no real surprise there!

I had gone to the dark side, but it was still an awesome machine. The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R ABS motorcycle had a black frame, with purple trim, but with dark grey uppers. The machine was powerful and very fast. I had limited stowage available at the rear for ammunition and my PDW conversion kit. I had also obtained a brand new, all purple helmet, which fitted snugly over my mask.

..._...

Kick-Ass?

Well, the dick in a wetsuit had surprised me! I never knew that he could ride a motorcycle, but it seemed he had limited experience from when he was younger and he had not wasted his time while he came looking for me – he had learnt some shit! He still needed some more experience, though, which he would accumulate as he gained time on two wheels.

He was not a Supersport guy, so I suggested some rides, however, he had his own ideas and had opted for a Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS Adventure. I had to approve – not a choice I would have made, but a good one nonetheless. The machine was predominantly green with yellow highlights.

Both machines were fitted with Continental Conti Sport Attack3 tyres to allow for the Seattle weather which was damp to say the least!

For now, though, as he built up experience he had chosen to stick with four wheels and we had obtained a beast of a pickup truck. The Cyber Grey Metallic GMC Canyon had been raised by six-inches giving it an awesomely imposing driving position. There were custom steel bumpers, front and rear, with a winch mounted on the front bumper. The pickup was fitted with four-wheel-drive and had limited armouring. The body style was a crew cab with a long box – that would allow us to transport both motorcycles in the back.

No more Mist Mobile!

* * *

 ** _That night_**

We sped through lower Seattle; I kept just ahead and to the left of the GMC pickup, with Kick-Ass at the wheel.

Our first port of call was the Circle-K. Battle Guy had advised us that the youths were gathering again at the site across the junction. That night, those idiots were going down, one way or another. I called Battle Guy as we got closer.

"How many?"

"Call it a round dozen – all large and all armed with bats and other equally nice things – no firearms that I can see..."

"We'll assume they are armed, thanks."

That was a major escalation that worried me!

..._...

We shot across the intersection, skidding to a halt at the edge of the abandoned carwash. At first, nobody seemed to notice our arrival, which gave us time to dismount and ready our weapons. Our arrival _had_ been noticed, though, by other drivers and customers across the junction at the Circle-K.

"Hey!" A voice called out and several of the men and women turned to face us.

"Remember, Hit Girl – no killing!" I warned.

"I'll play nice..." Hit Girl growled back. "If they do..."

"You do that!"

"What the fuck do you two clowns want?" A man yelled out as he strode forwards – he was the leader – Kealty his name was. We had identified him since the other night.

"We want to clean up this town and we're starting with you!" Hit Girl growled, as she stood her ground.

"Two of you, against a dozen of us – nice try, but a fight would be a little unfair!" He hinted.

"To you, maybe – I see it as a win for us before we even start!" Hit Girl continued without any hint of worry.

The man laughed as did many of his compatriots.

"Watch out, I see movement from the back!" Battle Guy warned. He was obviously using the high-definition cameras at the Circle-K to monitor the situation.

I looked over at the back of the group and saw movement, somebody was steadily pushing their way through to the front. Kealty stepped to one side as another man came up beside him, he had a pump-action shotgun in hand and he opened fire on us both without a moment's hesitation.

We turned away to absorb the shotgun blasts on our armour. The pellets stung, but nothing penetrated our armour. As he fired his seventh round, we turned together, knowing that the shotgun was empty and we both ran at Kealty.

There was shock evident on every face that we had survived the shotgun's onslaught unscathed.

..._...

The man with the shotgun was struggling to reload, but he had inserted no more than a single cartridge when Kick-Ass' fist took him in the side of the head and he went down, dropping the shotgun and a handful of cartridges.

Hit Girl kicked Kealty in the chest, sending him flying backwards and knocking down two other men like bowling pins. I saw four more men converge on Hit Girl with baseball bats raised. I had my own problems, though, as four more approached me, bats and all, although one seemed to have a fucking machete!

I took the blows from the bats with the armour on my lower arms, before spinning and drawing my batons which were more than a match for the bats and the machete. I struck out, fighting anybody within reach.

I was having fun!

* * *

The combat suit was doing its job well, absorbing the energy from the blows, but I still felt every one and they still hurt!

I span, catching the leg of one man, tripping him. He went down hard, but another took his place very quickly. I received a blow to my side, but I rolled with it and swung my bō-staff to the side and catching the man with the centre of the weapon. He went down cold as I turned to assist Kick-Ass.

He was fighting well I thought.

* * *

Another man down and then I was facing a girl of maybe nineteen.

"You wouldn't hit a girl, wouldya?" She laughed.

"He wouldn't, but I would!" Hit Girl growled as she planted a punch in the girl's stomach forcing her to drop the machete. She followed up with a fist to the back. The girl went down with a scream.

"Thank you!" I acknowledged.

The field was thinned out, not many were left standing.

I strode over to the leader and I glared down at Kealty.

"Who the fuck are you man?" He demanded through the pain.

"I'm Kick-Ass! And my girl over there – that is Hit Girl..."

"I think..." Hit Girl began coming up behind me, but then we heard sirens and a pair of Police cars appeared from Northeast 12th Street. "Let's go!"

We ran for our vehicles and took off, Hit Girl rode off down Northeast Sunset Boulevard and me up Northeast 12th Street.

We had a plan for the event and we followed it to the letter.

* * *

I curved around the Boulevard at speed continuing onto Northeast Park Drive and then south onto the I-405.

After burying myself amongst the traffic, I took the next exit, diving almost directly into a copse of trees. I wrapped the motorcycle in a pre-positioned insulated camouflage cover and listened into my earpiece as Kick-Ass closed on my position. The two Police cars had pursued _me_ and I watched with a grin as they shot past the exit, still on the I-405.

Kick-Ass picked me up and we loitered near the Cedar River till about two in the morning. What we did in the back of the truck... Use your imagination! We collected the motorcycle, placing it into the bed of the truck and we headed for the Safehouse via the I-405 and I-5. It was almost four by the time we secure the vehicles and stripped off our combat suits.

What a night! Marty was waiting for us and he drove two very tired vigilantes home.


	6. The Awakening

**_Monday evening_**

 ** _New York City_**

"Hey, Marcus – get a look at this..."

"What you got?" Sergeant Marcus Williams asked his colleague.

"Paper – got some shit in it about you know who!"

Marcus sighed and accepted the newspaper and started to read the indicated section. He read the headline and held his head in his hand for a second before reading on.

 _IS THE PURPLE ASSASSIN IN SEATTLE?_

 _Among the Super-Hero fraternity there have been rumblings concerning  
the return of Kick-Ass and Hit Girl. The other night, in the City of Renton,  
a dozen hardened thugs were put down by none other than the vigilantes,  
Kick-Ass and Hit Girl. Kick-Ass, normally known for his patrolling of New  
York, seems to have relocated, along with his elusive purple partner, the  
unstoppable, Hit Girl. There has been very little evidence or solid facts  
concerning the purple assassin. Very few people have even seen her.  
Nobody has actually reported talking to her. Maybe this is because most  
people she meets, criminals that is, don't survive that meeting with Hit Girl.  
All that is known for certain is, that if you meet her and you are a criminal  
then it is very unlikely that you will survive intact to see another day._

 _Hit Girl has never been known to take prisoners or to give quarter in her  
attacks. She was last seen fighting the self-proclaimed, evil super-villain  
the Motherfucker several months, or so ago, in New York. Some say she  
left New York shortly after. Others say Hit Girl is still fighting crime in NYC.  
Nobody knows. Her fans though watch the night skies hoping to see their  
purple heroine. Criminals, however, hope that they will never, ever, get to  
meet the elusive, violently deadly, Hit Girl in the flesh, for obvious reasons..._

 _THE DREAM TEAM ARE BACK_

 _I have the pleasure in reporting, that the Dream Team, of Kick-Ass and Hit  
Girl are back together, but this time, they are on the streets of Seattle and  
the surrounding area, instead of in the City of New York, fighting crime on  
behalf of us all! They seem to be targeting the drug dealers and the pushers,  
as well as the rapists, muggers and other thugs that plague the lives of the  
normal, hardworking, American citizen. It has also been reported that they  
apparently no longer look like they did before. No green wetsuit and no purple  
wig. Now, they both sport new, armoured, menacing looking, suits, while still  
favouring their more traditional weapons. Kick-Ass has his batons and Hit Girl  
has her usual array of sharp blades that she uses with such skill and diplomacy._

 _The only thing left for me to say is: 'Criminals beware, the Dream Team are in town!'_

"Interesting!" Marcus commented dryly.

* * *

 ** _Mid-afternoon_**

 ** _Seattle_**

Mindy put down the paper.

"They like us, don't they?" I offered.

"Yes, they do!" Mindy agreed with a big smile.

Mindy could not keep still and had not actually stopped agitating since she had awoken on Sunday afternoon after our Saturday night out! We had both played innocent when Irene had explained all about the vigilante action across from the Circle-K.

We had checked in on her on Sunday evening, but all was calm.

* * *

 ** _Later that night_**

 ** _Dr Jose Rizal Park_**

Kick-Ass and I were standing atop a block of apartments from where we could observe a good sized chunk of the park.

We had heard rumours of trouble in the park over the previous few weeks. It had seemed mostly limited to assholes annoying people that just wanted to spend time with their loved ones and friends. However, we had heard of more sinister activities in the park, late at night.

I also wanted to get out there again – I loved my new combat suit; it was _so_ me! The new suit gave me a good feeling. It was my third costume. My first had been designed for a seven-year-old as a way to turn the killing into a game, so there had been nothing sexual about it. It had been upgraded over the years, mainly to allow for my growing. Then there had been a gap of a few years before I had needed a suit again – I had grown in various places, maybe not as much as I would have liked... My second costume had not been very sexual either as I had designed it and I had known absolutely nothing about sex – yes, I knew what bit went in where, but that was it! This third costume, was my first _serious_ vigilante costume, though – designed to protect the wearer as opposed to a suit designed for fun, or one to make the wearer feel good.

I had been surprised that I felt – well… Sexy? Considering my experiences in Chicago, I doubted that I would ever feel sexy or anything like it, again! The suit hugged my curves nicely and I had noticed Dave checking me out – which felt awesome. Maybe my 'attack' had not robbed me of those types of feelings...

I was hauled out of my reverie by Kick-Ass

* * *

Hit Girl seemed to be in her own little world.

"Fancy a fuck?" I asked.

"Huh?" Hit Girl replied, obviously oblivious to what I had just asked.

"Nothing..."

"So – you think you might upgrade?"

"Upgrade what?"

"The Suzuki."

"Oh – you mean to something faster?"

"I was thinking about a Kawasaki Ninja – or if you like the Suzuki, a GSX-S1000F ABS would be good, too."

I considered that for a moment.

"You know, Hit Girl, we're not _all_ speed freaks like you!"

"I ride responsibly!" She retorted.

I'm sorry, but I just cracked up and it took a sharp, and very hard, punch on my shoulder to bring me back to my senses!

"Asshole!"

"Sorry – but you walked straight into that one!"

I was about to argue, when I noticed something below us.

..._...

"Look what we have down there!" I declared to Kick-Ass.

"Oh?" Kick-Ass responded, looking in the same direction as I was. "Not good!"

There was a group of maybe twenty people, mostly young males, but also some similarly aged females. My trained eyes interpreted it as a mob. I also began to hear jeering – something bad was happening, or was _about_ to happen. We both moved to a position where we could get a better look.

"Oh fuck!" I exclaimed as I recognised two _other_ females present.

..._...

To one side, near some trees, I could see our friend, Strongbow. She was being held securely by two large males. She had obviously tried to intervene, obviously with little success. Her identity was still intact, I noticed and I could see that her bow was being held by another male a few feet away, out of reach. The girl was being taunted and she was yelling back, but from our distance we could not make out what she was saying.

The other female was a girl whom we had seen from time to time, since our arrival in Seattle. She was a petty thief and we had warned her off once or twice when she had tried to get into the 'big league'. We had warned her that entering the big league would mean that we would then go after her.

The stupid girl obviously did not know when to quit!

"We need to get closer..." I suggested.

..._...

We moved to the next building – Kick-Ass was getting good at making successful building leaps which was definitely an improvement! I froze as I moved to the edge of the building and looked down. What I saw was a nightmare come true, only for a change it was not my own nightmare, but somebody else's.

The girl, not Strongbow, was being stripped naked by the baying mob. She was screaming, but nothing she could do or say was preventing her clothes from being forcibly removed from her body. As I watched, her jacket was hauled off her by two girls as four males pinned her down. Under her jacket, she wore a blouse – that was ripped off her body, buttons flying. Her bra – purple I noticed was not unclipped, one of the girls produced a flick knife, cutting the shoulder straps and then the main portion.

Her pale upper body was fully exposed and the crowd loved it! The girl was struggling to cover her breasts in humiliation at what was happening to her. Unfortunately for her, she had to try and keep her breasts under cover _and_ fight to keep her pants. Her boots were ripped off her legs and thrown to the side. The hand gripping the top of her pants in a death grip, were forcible pulled away and held with the other arm above her head, while another girl sat on her stomach, holding her down.

The two girls began to pull down her pants despite the struggling girl who was valiantly kicking her legs to prevent her total exposure and the screaming from her was making me feel some extreme emotions.

"We need to move!" I growled, dragging my eyes away from the sight.

"I'll get transport – you be careful," Kick-Ass warned as he ran for the stairs.

I was going to take a much faster route down... I clipped the end of an Assaultline onto a suitable mounting on the roof of the block and attached the Assaultline into the tactical rappel belt that was built into my combat suit.

I took hold of the descender and dived off the edge of the building.

* * *

It had all gone wrong _so_ fast!

I had heard the crowd gathering and I gone to investigate. They had seized some girl and they were terrorizing her. I had kept to the shadows as the crowd was way too big for me to handle. I intended to see if I could get the girl out, but only if I could get the upper hand.

Unfortunately, I had been seized by two big guys – I had not been checking my back; a problem of operating alone – who then took my bow off of me and then pinned me to a fucking tree and they forced me to watch while they stripped the other girl naked. They had taunted me with insults about my vigilante prowess and made other snide, and very crude comments about me being next to be stripped...

They had already exposed the screaming girl's breasts to cheers and they were working on her lower regions. Just as her pants were being ripped off to reveal some not very elegant panties, I caught sight of something falling off one of the nearby apartment blocks.

It looked vaguely familiar...

* * *

The arrested fall did _not_ take long!

I was on the ground within seconds, discarding the Assaultline and readying my SIG MPX K sub-machine gun for action; I had noticed firearms being carried by some of the males. I crept close to the baying crowd; nobody had seen my descent or approach.

I decided that safety in numbers was important so I made my way towards Strongbow.

Over the radio, I heard that Kick-Ass was approaching in the Canyon with no lights. I edged into the trees and worked my way from shadow to shadow towards Strongbow.

The noise from the crowd was a great distraction.

* * *

I was frozen.

I had never been _so_ humiliated in my life. Everybody was seeing _everything_! Nobody had ever seen me naked, but now everything private was now very public... The ground was stony and my back was very saw from being pinned down as my clothes were ripped from me. I had fought my hardest to keep my breasts covered, but then they had attacked my pants. A crap choice – cover my tits, or prevent my total exposure!

Finally, the choice was taken from me as my hands were held above my head and I felt my pants sliding down my legs. Strangely, I was embarrassed about my choice of panties that morning. Why I was worried about people seeing my panties when they were about to see what was _in_ my panties!

Then my pants were hauled off and I felt hands tugging at my panties which were quickly ripped off, exposing me completely. I sobbed and cried out for help – but everybody just laughed at my predicament, some seeing it as 'just a bit of fun'!

Hands began to grope me. My breasts were sore with the attention, my nipples rock hard. My pubic hair was being tugged, which hurt, and I felt fingers exploring my labia.

All I could do was close my eyes and pray for it to all be over.

* * *

The girl was now completely naked and freaking out at what might happen next; she was screaming for help, but none was coming.

"Your turn next, honey – I bet your pussy looks hot, just like hers does!" One of the freaks holding me laughed as he casually ran a hand over my left breast.

I ignored him and looked down at the naked girl as the men shoved her into a puddle leftover from the evening's rain, covering her pale bare skin in mud. The girl could only have been about sixteen – not much older than me and she had a reasonably developed body. Many hands were fondling her breasts and pubic area, ignoring the screams from the girl whose hands were being pinned beneath her back, allowing easier access to her chest and vulva. My own skin began to crawl at the thought of me writhing stark naked on the ground, my legs spread apart and... My thoughts were interrupted by a hissing sound behind me.

"Standby to move!"

..._...

With a jerk, I recognised the voice; it was Hit Girl.

The man who had my compound bow stood a few feet away and he was happily soaking in the action before him. Then the man seemed to vanish as he was hauled backwards into the trees. I did my best not to smirk...

Suddenly my left arm was freed and I felt something being pushed into my left hand – _my bow_ – then my right arm was freed. I reached up slowly and pulled an arrow from my quiver, notching it to the bow. Something black and purple moved past me, before standing off to my right.

"Which bastards want to die, tonight?" Hit Girl called out and several of the crowd turned to see who had yelled.

..._...

They turned to find two very pissed off girls aiming a bow and a wicked looking sub-machine gun at them. Hands rapidly shot into the air.

"On your fucking knees, now, bastards!" Hit Girl growled. "Hands on your fucking heads."

The crowd began to thin as people knelt down with their hands on their heads. A pistol was raised towards Hit Girl. There was a single gunshot and the man fell to the ground, dead. Smoke curled from the muzzle of Hit Girl's weapon. She strode further forwards and stopped beside a man who had mud on his hands from fondling the naked girl and whose pants and underwear were down around his ankles.

"You want to know what I think of rapists...?" Hit Girl hissed, loudly enough for all to hear.

"I raped no one!"

"But you thought about it..." I called out.

The man did not reply – he knew he was busted. I noticed Hit Girl's body language, there was something there... I had a faint idea what, but there was no fucking way that I was voicing my thoughts – not to somebody as deadly as Hit Girl!

..._...

Hit Girl looked down at the man, just like she might look at a dead cockroach, and she sneered.

"I see your ridiculously small cock again – you lose it, capiche?"

The man nodded emphatically, keeping his head down.

Hit Girl then looked around the assembled crowd.

"You rape, in this City, and I find you – you die... I catch anybody even _thinking_ about raping a woman and I cut your fucking cock off and I will make you eat it... You fucking understand me!" Hit Girl growled.

I caught movement from the left and without a conscious thought I released my arrow in the same direction on instinct. A man screamed as his hand was impaled by my arrow forcing him to drop the pistol he held. In a fluid motion I notched another arrow.

Then I heard an engine and a vehicle pulled up, skidding to a halt on the muddy grass. Kick-Ass appeared, a SIG pistol in his right hand. He moved straight for the naked girl, picking her up like she was nothing and carrying her to the large grey truck. Hit Girl moved, indicating for me to move in the same direction with a curt nod of her head.

..._...

We both kept our weapons raised and aimed at the crowd of people. We reached the truck and I found Kick-Ass arguing with the girl!

"I'll make a mess, leave me..."

"It's fucking leather – it'll wash!" Kick-Ass growled back.

"Okay!" The girl allowed herself to be helped into the backseat of the truck where Kick-Ass passed the naked girl a blanket. "Thanks."

Kick-Ass dived into the driver's seat and I jumped into the back with the girl while Hit Girl covered us with her automatic weapon. Kick-Ass started the engine and started to reverse as Hit Girl jumped onto the running board, holding onto the roof bar. Kick-Ass executed a perfect J-turn, with Hit Girl swinging in through the open front window, before speeding away as the crowd began to surge towards us.


	7. Explanations

**_Monday night_**

 ** _Safehouse A_**

"Not again, please... This can't be happening to me, not again..."

Hit Girl looked over at the girl as she sat huddled on the couch, still naked, covered in mud and wrapped in the blanket. There was compassion in her eyes as she walked over to the girl. Kick-Ass had brought her a hot cup of tea.

"What's your name?" Hit Girl asked.

"Jen, err Jennifer Carter."

"Sixteen?" Hit Girl went on.

"Yeah."

"You talked about it happening again..."

The girl, Jen, looked very uncomfortable. I saw it in her eyes; she was a victim, but a victim of what? The whole thing was surreal! There I was in a large warehouse that belonged to Hit Girl and she was asking questions of a girl that had almost been gang raped! Kick-Ass was watching both me and Jen, like a hawk.

"I was raped, four years ago, almost to the week. That was when my life fell apart, completely, and why I am where I am, today."

"I'm sorry. You don't have to say anything else – I won't force anybody to do that..."

Jen looked up at Hit Girl, an expression of gratitude on her face, and then at me and then at Kick-Ass.

"I _want_ to tell you. I've told nobody since I told the Police – I _need_ to tell somebody..."

* * *

 ** _2011_**

 ** _Evening_**

For a twelve-year-old girl, I was happy.

I had my Mom and I had my Dad. I had a comfortable home in Seattle and I enjoyed my life. It was a Thursday evening and I had just finished my homework. As far as I was concerned it was a normal evening and I was about to sit down to watch TV with my parents before bed.

Then everything changed and not for the better.

Two hours later, my Mom was dead, my Dad had been arrested and there were two dead bodies on the living room floor. Me? I was no longer a virgin; I had been raped – twice...

..._...

The men had turned up at our door.

Mom had answered it. Seconds later there had been raised voices and my Mom was shoved back into the living room. Two men followed her in; they looked very unhappy. Both looked normal, but I noticed a badge on the belt of one; he was a Cop.

They were Cops, what could go wrong?

"What the hell is this?" Dad exploded as he stood up.

"Sit down, mister – you're gonna do what we say..."

"Do you have a warrant?" Dad interrupted.

"For what we're gonna do?" The taller Cop said with a smirk.

"No. We're here to have some fun!" The other Cop finished as he walked over to my Dad.

The Cop pulled out his pistol and placed it against my Dad's forehead. The man motioned for my Dad to sit, which he did, the pistol never wavering from his forehead.

"Understand this: you move; you and these two bitches die..."

I could see the anger in Dad's eyes, but I knew that he had no choice but to comply; he nodded reluctantly.

..._...

"Get over to your Mom!" I was ordered.

I did not hesitate and ran over to Mom and she hugged me tightly. Next, another gun was put to _my_ head; I froze and I found that I was shaking and on top of that I felt an urgent need to pee. The man glared at my Mom before he spoke.

"Strip her!" He ordered.

"No...!" Dad snarled, almost jumping up at the demand.

"Shut the fuck up!"

Dad was punched back onto the couch. I was sobbing so hard I was struggling to breath as I hugged my Mom tightly. Mom was shaking as she sobbed too.

"I said, strip her..."

Mom made me stand up.

"I'm so sorry, honey; I have to..."

"No, Mommy, no..."

I was shaking from head to toe as Mom gently pulled off my t-shirt. I was not wearing a bra; I had no need for one at that stage. I was barefoot, so next went my joggers, leaving me in just my panties. Mom stopped there, glaring up at the two men. I was too scared to be embarrassed or to feel humiliated as I would have expected.

"I never told you to stop, bitch!"

Mom continued to glare at the man, refusing to do any more. The men did not like that; my Mom was pistol whipped and she fell to the floor, blood dripping to the carpet. I screamed and tried to run away, but one of the men grabbed me, forcing me to the floor, face-down. My panties were ripped from me and I lay on the carpet, completely naked.

"You bastard..." Dad roared.

I heard a thud and Dad went silent. Then I felt hands on my hips, lifting my back end up, but then another hand on the top of my back, pushing me down. I found myself on my knees, but my head was still on the carpet. Now through the fear came the humiliation. I was crying even harder; I realised that it was beyond humiliation, beyond degrading – a single four letter word jumped, unbidden, into my mind and I shook with even more fear.

Nobody, other than Mom and Dad, had ever seen me naked, let alone in such a vulnerable position. I struggled, but I was held fast by one of the men. I felt warm breath on my left ear and then a voice.

"Move and you die... Co-operate and you may live..."

I hate to say it, but I capitulated completely; I submitted to both men.

* * *

 ** _2015_**

I had a captive audience.

The three vigilantes just stared at me. I could see abject horror on their faces – what I could see of their faces...

"I remember nothing from the moment I felt the first cock pushed roughly inside me and then waking up as something wet splashed over my face. I looked around me to see both men dead, their heads cracked open, blood spilling out.

"Dad was sitting on the couch, a table leg in his hand. The end was covered in blood. I was numb with fear and I just lay there, vaguely aware of being naked and of a wet feeling between my legs. The next thing I remembered was being lifted off the floor and placed onto a stretcher and then pushed into an ambulance.

"I never saw my Dad again after that night. I was later told by my Aunt that he was doing twenty-five to life for aggravated murder as both men had been Cops. I never found out why he went to prison for saving my life, but he was gone forever. Mom was dead – she never regained consciousness from the pistol whipping. I went to live with my Aunt in Milwaukee. I have tried to blank out what happened, but it is always there and probably always will be.

"I'm just glad that I could not remember the actual attack. I can never use the actual word; you know the 'R' word. I felt dirty, violated. I was in shock for several days and never really discussed what happened. I went to a new school in Milwaukee and nobody knew of my shame. I hated it when other girls my age talked about losing their virginity and how much they were looking forward to losing it with somebody special... I never had that choice..."

I fell silent and just stared at the floor.

* * *

Nobody spoke for several minutes.

"Strongbow, would you keep an eye on Jen for a minute, please?" I asked as I pulled Kick-Ass into a corner for a brief conference.

Strongbow nodded as we walked a good few feet away, keeping both girls in full view.

"She's in a bad way," I began.

"I can see that – but this place is not ready for visitors yet!" Kick-Ass replied.

"We'll take it in turns, you me and Battle Guy – you go shopping..."

Kick-Ass nodded and walked out the door. We had hot water and a functioning bathroom, so that would be no problem. We had towels too. The kitchen was still in boxes, but we could make hot drinks and some limited food in a microwave. We had a double bed in an office, for us, but there were also some camp beds and sleeping bags in our steadily growing pile of supplies and equipment.

I turned to the two girls.

"Jen – why don't you go take a shower and then we'll find you a place to bed down for the night. I think it best if you are not alone..."

Jen smiled appreciatively and gently stood up, pain evident in her face. I pointed her in the correct direction before turning to Strongbow.

"When Kick-Ass gets back, he will take you back to your motorcycle – nice machine by the way!" I offered. "You will be blindfolded again, though..."

We had picked up her motorcycle from the park, but dumped it in some trees a few miles away so that any GPS she had would not pinpoint our Safehouse. Both girls had been blindfolded almost immediately after leaving the scene.

I had planned for the contingency of having 'guests', but had not acted on those plans yet – once we had our primary Safehouse up and running, then I was intending to setup at least two others – never mind!

* * *

Kick-Ass returned after almost an hour!

By that time, Jen had showered and was now clean again, but wrapped in a towel. Kick-Ass had bought some clothes which by a miracle, actually fitted! He had even thought to buy some feminine items too – a hairbrush for one. My man was good, wasn't he!

Strongbow said goodbye and Kick-Ass drove her to her motorcycle while I setup a camp bed and a sleeping bag in the only warm place – other than our room – the kitchen.

"Sorry, not the best accommodation!" I quipped.

"No problem, Hit Girl, thank you for saving my life and also for saving me from something worse than death..."

"I was glad to be able to help you – I mean that, I really do."

..._...

Once Jen was in bed, she fell asleep very quickly – not surprising after her ordeal! I sat down and started to clean my SIG MPX K. I had only fired a single round, but it still needed to be cleaned... It also allowed me to focus as I stripped the weapon down and gently cleaned and oiled the relevant components.

"You look like you are having fun!"

I almost jumped out of my skin – Kick-Ass was _not_ a fucking ninja!

"Don't creep up on me like that!" I warned, but smiled.

"You and the SIG seemed to be having a very sensual experience..."

I felt my face warming up, but did not rise to the bait as I finished reassembling the SIG.

"You take the first watch – I'm off to bed!"

* * *

I awoke three hours later; it was a little after two in the morning.

I pulled on a set of dark grey jogging pants and a matching top, plus my mask and some plain light blue sneakers. It felt odd wearing the mask, without the combat suit, but I would manage. I found Kick-Ass in the other office playing Solitaire with a pack of cards.

"Morning gorgeous!" He chuckled.

"Hi!" I said and gave my best friend a kiss on the lips.

"Nice!"

"How's Jen?"

"She has had a nightmare or two, but she's still asleep."

"I know what that's like..."

"Kind of brings things just a bit too close to home..."

"It does, yeah... You go get some sleep – I'll see you at six. Love you..."

..._...

What was I going to do for the next four hours?

I made a coffee and then I started playing with shit... Guns _not_ myself! I stripped down my pistols, reassembled them, stripped them down again... I was on the fourth iteration when I heard movement behind me. I turned to see Jen coming towards me.

She did _not_ look good!

"Hi, Jen – how're you feeling?" I asked.

"Like crap!" She replied then looked at my coffee. "Can I get one of those, please?"

I made fresh coffee for us both and we sat down on the couch. Nobody said anything for several minutes.

"Hit Girl – err, why are you helping me?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"I mean – I'm a criminal, you normally kick our asses and send us to the Cops..."

"Bad people, yes – in my experience you are not a bad person, just misguided."

"Will... Will you help me get back on track?"

Oh, wow! What could I do? I was getting out of my depth! I considered waking Dave, but no...

"What do want me to do?"

"How can I be like you?"

 _Not_ the response that I had been expecting!

* * *

 ** _SE 46th Way, Bellevue_**

I had barely crept into the house and I was heading to my bedroom when I was ambushed.

"You've been busy!"

The light came on and I found myself face to face with my Aunt Laura.

"Sorry, late night!"

"You could have called – I heard there was some trouble at a certain park and for all I knew, you could have been involved!"

"I was with friends, Aunt Laura and I'm fine..."

"Get to bed – you need to get your room tidied as my brother is coming to town on Wednesday..."

"What!" I exclaimed.

"Not my idea, I promise you!"

I slunk off to my bedroom contemplating Wednesday – as if things could get any worse!


	8. The Christmas Spirit

**_The following morning  
Tuesday_**

 ** _Safehouse A_**

We had awoken late – towards ten that morning.

Kick-Ass had taken the last shift from six. I had to admit, I was tired but I had lain awake considering Jen's request. After much soul searching I came to a decision and as I removed the blindfold, I gave her a piece of paper with an address on it.

"Be there at four-thirty this afternoon."

Jen smiled as we drove off, leaving her standing beside the road. I had decided to offer her a job: I had asked her if she had a job and her response?

"Not a legal one, if that's what you mean."

She lived in a shithole too, as I understood it. So I decided to help her – if not, she would only end up as jailbait for some bitch in King County Juvenile Detention! I headed back to the Safehouse and parked the truck inside.

Dave was out with Marty in that _other_ car – they were tailing Jen.

* * *

 ** _That afternoon_**

 ** _Circle-K_**

Mindy breezed in the door a few minutes after I had clocked on.

"Hi, Boss!"

"How many times must I tell you... Oh never mind!"

Mindy headed into the office.

I served four men, all buying gas and cigarettes. I went back to my magazine and lazily authorised a couple of pumps. It was a boring job, but it paid and it got my Aunt and Uncle off my back! Then, about thirty minutes into my shift, I got the shock of my life...

In walked Jennifer Carter!

She came right up to the counter and asked for 'The Owner'. I just stood there – less than twenty-four-hours previously I had seen that very same girl stripped naked and almost gang-raped!

"Hello!" She enquired – I must have looked a prize idiot!

"Yeah, sorry!"

I headed in back to the office.

"Boss – some girl to see you..."

Mindy dived out of the office.

"You must be Jen. A, err mutual friend said you needed a job."

"Yeah; I'll take anything..."

"Well then, you start right now. Jennifer Carter, please meet Juliette Atkinson. Juliette, please meet Jen."

"Hi, Jen!"

"Hi, Juliette!"

"Juliette, please show Jen the ropes – she will be sharing your shift for a while."

"Right you are, Boss!"

I headed back to the counter, with Jen in tow. I felt _so_ uncomfortable to put it mildly! I knew Jen's life story, at least a chunk of it, but more specifically how she had been raped at the tender age of twelve. Conversation was initially difficult – my fault, not hers! We gradually began to chat about more fun things – including boys...

"Anybody ever told you that you look like that girl from Harry Potter?" Jen asked part way through the shift.

I rolled my eyes and grimaced. I hated it when people noticed that! Yeah, I looked _similar_ to that girl – but only from a distance, for fuck's sake!

* * *

 ** _Two days later  
Thursday morning, Christmas Eve_**

 ** _A warehouse on the east side_**

I had no idea what was going on, but I had received a cryptic message to be in a certain place at a certain time.

So I was.

I had waited for a good half hour and I was getting pissed, so I went over to a warehouse and leant against the peeling wooden door frame. I had been there barely a minute when the door flew open and a purple arm wrapped itself around my chest, hauling me in and the door was slammed shut. I was spun around and I found myself looking into the eyes – or rather mask – of Hit Girl.

"Should I be worried?" I asked tentatively.

"Probably..."

I turned to see the other vigilante.

"Kick-Ass!" Hit Girl growled. "No, Jen – we are just going to ease you in gently. Firstly, though, we need to talk about some rules..."

I was released and I followed the female assassin into a large open space. There, to one side was a reasonably comfortable, but well used, couch! In the centre of the space, in total contrast to the couch, was a large training mat and an array of lethal looking weapons.

..._...

After sitting down next to Hit Girl, she turned to me.

"You need a name."

"I have a name."

"No, you don't – you have a secret identity; you need a superhero name."

"Oh, I see..."

"How about... Kora – it means maiden from Greek."

Jen thought about that for a minute and then she smiled.

"I like it!"

"Now – when in costume, we never use our real names – I know you don't know ours, but we know yours. From now on, when we are together, we will call you Kora..."

..._...

Kora was in pain – a lot of pain! All I seemed to see was ceiling, mat, ceiling, mat. I had a distinct feeling that Hit Girl was enjoying herself...!

"You _trying_ to kill me?" I demanded.

"If I wanted to, I would..." Hit Girl said quite reasonably.

"Okay – point taken!"

* * *

 ** _Later that afternoon_**

 ** _Circle-K_**

I grinned as Jen walked in the door.

The bruises from the morning's sparring were very evident on her face.

"What happened to you?" Jen asked in shock.

"I, err walked into a door," she lied smoothly with a vicious smile.

"If you say so..."

I had to rapidly head into the office and close the door behind me before I gave the game away!

* * *

 ** _The following day  
Christmas Day_**

I awoke with tingles all over my body.

Some were from what Dave had done to me the night before... The others were from the fact that I positively adored Christmas! I checked the clock – it was seven in the morning. I raised a hand to prod Dave awake...

"Do it and I will break that finger..." Dave growled.

My mouth dropped open in stunned incredulity.

"What?"

"It is too early, Hit Girl – I need rest after last night..."

Okay – he had been _very_ energetic and he had found every sensitive spot my body possessed, both inside and out! I put my finger away and kissed him instead... He wrapped his arms around my naked body and pulled me towards his. I giggled as I felt something hard prod my stomach.

That was when my cell rang – talk about shit timing!

"Merry Christmas!" Came the deep voice from over 2,800 miles to the east.

* * *

"Marcus!" Mindy screeched.

The view of Mindy on her knees, completely exposed and on the phone was very tantalising – what would Marcus say if he knew that she was butt naked! I smirked as an idea came to me... I started to tease Mindy's pubic hair with the fingers of my left hand and the soft, slightly moist, area between her legs with my right hand.

Mindy glared down at me as she tried to talk to Marcus. Mindy began to increase her breathing as I caressed her special places...

"Dave – stop it!" Mindy whispered.

I ignored her!

"Oh, God!" Mindy growled as her legs began to buckle as wave after wave of sensations swept through her body. "I gotta call you back, Marcus – sorry..."

* * *

 ** _New York City_**

The call was still connected and what I was hearing was... Holy fuck!

In my haste to kill the call, I fumbled the phone triggering the speaker and the phone then dropped onto the floor. I cancelled the call just as Mindy screamed! I was suddenly feeling very ill...

It was a bit like a telephone version of 'When Harry Met Sally'!

* * *

 ** _Seattle_**

I was mortified, when I called Marcus back.

However, he seemed a little uncomfortable himself – did he figure out what Dave and I had done? Never mind... It was worth it!

Dave and I lazed around our house for the remainder of the morning. We had no intention of doing anything – the Circle K was closed for the day, so we had no responsibilities. Dave called Marty to wish him a Happy Christmas – he would be back in Seattle in the New Year. Until then – we were alone!

Even better, it snowed, but only a little... It was warm and cosy inside and that was what mattered.

It had been a little over two months since... Since _that day_ , when I had been rescued by my knight in shining armour... Well my dick in a wetsuit! But he was _my_ dick in a wetsuit – only he was no longer that guy anymore, he was so much more and I loved him more every day and I knew that the feeling was mutual.

Dave was incredibly supportive of my me as he endured my mood swings and sometimes my abusive and very immature behaviour. I was nowhere near past the trauma of that day and I knew that it would haunt me for many months, and even years, to come. However, with Dave by my side, I could do anything.

..._...

"What the fuck!" Dave exclaimed as he came into the room and found me with my arms above my head and my left leg extended as I span and cracked the hanging punch bag.

"Problem?" I grinned, knowing exactly what had shocked him.

Dave closed his mouth that had dropped open at the sight of me and stared for a minute.

"No problem..." He confirmed adjusting his groin.

I grinned – it was the first time that I had tried my exercises that way. There was a satisfying feeling of freedom when you did things completely naked – no clothes to restrict you. Talking of freedom – I could see something that was desperate to escape from Dave's shorts.

"Oh, God..." Dave moaned as he near enough ripped off his clothes and literally threw me to the floor.

Now I liked it rough, but damn! I had a nasty feeling that I was going to have a vicious carpet rash on my butt – but it was going to be worth it...

* * *

We took the opportunity to train, rest and prepare ourselves to go all out in the New Year.

My vow of protection was now in place on Seattle. Jen was doing well, very well, in fact. She was intelligent and a fast learner, both at the Circle-K – and as Kora. We did not see much of Strongbow over the Christmas period, although we could see evidence of her activities. We had not had any joint operations with her since that night when we had found Jen.

All of my employees had received Christmas Bonuses which Irene had complained about, but I forced it on her anyway – I knew that she had kids to support, so I was happy to help her out. Jen and Juliette, of course, almost ripped my hand off as they had received theirs!

Jen had been invited to spend Christmas Day with Juliette and her family, which was good and it kept her safe for that special day.

* * *

New Year's eve dawned very cold, with some drizzle – a bit depressing really. However, Dave and I kept busy and most of the carpet rash had faded away, despite it being topped up periodically... We had a lot of activity planned for the New Year. It would be very, very busy as we set ourselves up more permanently in the area.

We decided that we should put in an appearance in the City for the celebrations. We did not expect trouble, but the papers were still talking about us and some almost expected us to be out ensuring that the celebrations would go peacefully.

At around eleven, that night, we were loitering in Denny Park, not far from where the main events of the night were going to be taking place. We were being both overt and covert at the same time – not an easy task! We sat on our motorcycles – me on my Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R ABS and Kick-Ass on his Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS Adventure. I heard the throb of another motorcycle approach and smirked as I recognised the Honda XR650L as it turned into the park and then angled towards us.

"Good evening, Strongbow!" I called over.

"Hit Girl, Kick-Ass!" The younger vigilante replied.

* * *

I had told my parents that I was going out with friends to celebrate the New Year.

It was all bull, but I had to get out of the house. My Uncle had turned up the day after Christmas and... He was foul and I could not bear to spend another hour with him. He had brought news, too. The self-styled criminal who called himself The Motherfucker was still alive – supposedly Kick-Ass had killed him, something about a shark?

Anyway, he was causing rumblings in New York which had been cut off by the NYPD and he was currently in Riker's, enjoying twenty to life... I knew nothing more, but I was determined to find out some from Hit Girl and Kick-Ass, which was one of the reasons for coming into the City. I had a feeling that they would be out to keep an eye on things.

..._...

"Hey, did you hear about The Motherfucker?" I asked and was stunned by the response as both heads shot around to face me.

Hit Girl scowled beneath her mask and Kick-Ass took on a very menacing posture.

"What about him..." Kick-Ass growled menacingly.

"I... I heard that he was in Riker's..."

" _He's alive!_ " Hit Girl demanded somewhat incredulously.

"From what I know, yeah – you don't sentence a dead guy to jail, do ya?" I laughed stopping very quickly. Obviously The Motherfucker was not a good subject to bring up!

"Chris D'Amico was an idiot – he got in way above his head. I tried to save him, but..." Kick-Ass explained.

"I'm sorry for mentioning him..."

"Don't be – you just caught us unawares – that cunt and his family ruined a lot of lives..." Hit Girl replied with a reassuring smile.

* * *

For the moment I pushed Strongbow's revelation out of my mind and concentrated on the celebrations.

The Space Needle was all lit up and the countdown had begun. Nine – eight – seven – six – five – four – three – two – one... Happy New Year!

Fireworks exploded outwards and horns blared. It was an awesome display! I took the moment to grip Kick-Ass' hand tightly and he pulled me close. I felt tears in my eyes, but fought to keep them under control – I had never felt emotions like those that I was feeling.

"Happy New Year, Kick-Ass!" I said quietly.

"Happy New Year, Hit Girl!" He replied. "And a Happy New Year to you, Strongbow!"

The young girl was mesmerised by the fireworks and she was grinning broadly. She seemed not to hear us, but then she turned to face us.

"Err, yeah, Happy New Year, guys!" She replied.


	9. A New Year, A New Start

**_Four weeks later  
Thursday, 28th January, 2016_**

 ** _Boulevard Park_**

It was cold and damp as we approached the end of January.

What a rollercoaster ride the first few weeks of 2016 had been! However, out of the confusion, had come clarity. Right at that moment, I was sitting having an argument with Marcus. He wanted me to reveal my secret identity to that girl and her parents. Outside of Marcus, only two people knew that Mindy Macready and Hit Girl, were one and the same: Dave and Marty.

On the other side of the coin, I knew the girl's secret identity and apparently, so did Marcus and he had done, long before I did. I understood his reasons but...

God damn it; a secret identity was _supposed_ to be secret!

* * *

 ** _A little over two weeks earlier  
Saturday night_**

 ** _Washington Park Arboretum_**

When I found him, he was unconscious and lying on his side, facing away from me.

I needed help, but who? Where? He was far too heavy for me to shift on my own. It was a fucking shit time for Marty to head back to New York! I had tried Strongbow's cell number, but she had not answered. Kora was working in the Circle K – so she was miles away and she would have no way of reaching us, anyway.

I managed to drag Kick-Ass a dozen yards, but even I found that exhausting – okay, Hit Girl was all powerful, but her strength only went so far! I was making for an abandoned set of highway ramps – there seemed to be plenty of space underneath where I could hide Kick-Ass. That was when I heard movement walking down the path toward us, and a pair of steel shipping containers.

I pulled out my knife and waited beside the nearest container, which was the furthest from the path.

* * *

It was an emergency – it had to be: Hit Girl had called eight times!

I had immediately headed towards the container from which I had only been a few miles away from anyway. When I had arrived at the bottom of the highway ramp, my mind had been elsewhere, contemplating what might be wrong when I only sensed the incoming attack at the very last second. I ducked and rolled as the knife only barely missed my neck. I came up with my fist back ready to punch when I froze at the sight of who had attacked me.

"Hit Girl!" I exclaimed.

Hit Girl's blade was about to plunge down into me when she also froze and I was stunned by the first word out of her mouth.

"Juliette!"

How the hell, did Hit Girl know my name?

"Oh! It all becomes clear..." Hit Girl said slowly.

As I watched, Hit Girl pulled out her cell and punched a speed dial.

"Fuck!" I growled to nobody in particular, as my cell rang.

"Good evening, Strongbow..." Hit Girl growled. "Open up your den, and help me with Kick-Ass – he's hurt..."

* * *

"Not bad!" I commented as I looked around the container.

I took in the sofa bed, the mini-kitchen with a table and the Honda XR650L motorcycle. I also saw the Strongbow costume and the quiver of arrows. Kick-Ass was lying on the bed and I was gently applying pressure to a wound on his left side. The bullet had passed all the way through, but he was in obvious pain and Juliette passed me a field dressing to secure over the wound.

"Thank you," I growled.

* * *

 ** _Thursday, 28th January  
Mid-morning_**

 ** _Boulevard Park_**

"Mindy, she deserves to know the truth. You know about her and I know that she would be a great addition to your team..."

"Marcus, Hit Girl is a secret for a reason and so is Mindy Macready!" I countered.

"She is a great girl and you know that..." Marcus persisted.

"He has a point..." Dave interjected.

"You keep out of this!" I retorted angrily and Dave raised his hands defensively. "Sorry..."

I felt bad for shouting at Dave, but it was my identity to protect, so it was my problem.

* * *

 ** _SE 46th Way, Bellevue  
That evening_**

I was still against it, but a part of me considered it prudent.

I was sitting on a couch in a very comfortable living room. Next to me, was Dave and sitting with a smile on her face, in a chair, was Juliette – the poor girl had no idea what was about to come down on her! As far as she was concerned, her bosses were visiting. She knew Marcus, it seemed, which had been another surprise... Marcus, on his arrival a couple of days previously, had explained who Laura and Michael Atkinson were.

They were both Seattle Police Department Officers. Michael was a Sergeant and both were based at the West Precinct in the City. I had to admit, I liked them both and their accents reminded me of home as they had both been part of the NYPD, until moving to Seattle.

Marcus and Juliette's parents were going to head out for the evening, while we were going to be taking Juliette out – only not to where she was expecting...

* * *

 **Heading south**

"Okay – where we going?"

"Down near the airport..." I responded cryptically while Dave drove the truck.

"Come on, guys – why all the secrecy?" The sixteen-year-old persisted.

I laughed.

"Believe me, it will be worth the wait!"

* * *

 ** _Safehouse A_**

"Well, this place sucks!"

"That's kind of the idea, Juliette..." I commented.

It was not meant to look like a Safehouse, so I was pleased that it had passed its first test. Dave pulled around the back and drove around the side, parking and climbing out.

"This place doesn't look safe..."

"Believe me; it is very safe," I chuckled as I led Juliette around to the front and let her into the lobby at the front of the building.

"Wow – much nicer inside!" Juliette said as she looked around.

I waved her to follow me and I led the way up some stairs to the second floor. AT the top of the stairs were three doorways – all had closed doors with a code lock beside them. I punched in a code to the door directly ahead. The door buzzed and I pushed it open. I waved Juliette through and Dave allowed the door to close behind him as we both followed.

"Welcome, Strongbow – to Safehouse A..." I said with a flourish as lights began to snap on around us.

* * *

Holy, fuck!

My mind was overloaded as the lights came on around me. I was dazzled as the lights reflected off glass and polished wood. Then Mindy's comment registered in my name – she had called me 'Strongbow'!

"Easy, Strongbow – you are among friends..." Mindy cautioned.

Another face appeared from behind a desk – Marty!

* * *

Where there had previously been an empty mezzanine floor for storing crates, there was now a large open space with solid wood flooring.

To our left, was a glazed off area with a large glass-topped oval conference table with six chairs at one end. On the wall above it was a pair of large touchscreen displays. Directly beside us at our end of the space, along the wall was a wooden topped table with six chairs and three computers, each with twin monitors.

Directly in front of us, was another glazed off area that overlooked the floor below. In the centre of the space was a large circular area which was equipped with two 84-inch touchscreen displays and a large computer array, with multiple monitors. There was also communications equipment and several monitors that displayed the immediate and wider area surrounding the Safehouse.

..._...

"What is all this?" Juliette asked, a little lost for words.

I guided the confused girl over to the conference room and sat her down at the table. Marty came in with two large pizza boxes and some soft drinks.

"Let's eat while we talk," I suggested and we all grabbed a slice of pizza before I dived in.

"Strongbow – please meet, Battle Guy, Kick-Ass and of course, Hit Girl!"

I waved at the other two in turn and then myself.

"You _are_ fucking with me!" The totally shocked girl exclaimed.

"No, I am _deadly_ serious..." I growled and the girl went white.

"We know your secret and now you know ours and I am sure that we do not need to explain the consequences of passing on that information..." Dave added in a decidedly unfriendly tone.

* * *

Oh – my – God!

Hit Girl had just entrusted me with her secret identity as I had her, with mine.

Oh – my – God!

My boss was Hit Girl...

Oh – my – God!

They wanted me to be part of their team...

Oh – my – God!

* * *

Dave laughed.

"I think our junior vigilante is a little bit stunned!"

"Considering we can never normally shut her up, this is a surprise!" I added.

"I think there is a bit of the fan-girl in Juliette!" Marty commented shrewdly and Juliette actually blushed.

Juliette just sat there for several minutes absorbing everything that she had been told. I could tell that she was stunned by the revelations.

"You can trust Marcus, he knows everything about Dave and me – he also knows who you are and has done for a while now..."

"How did he find out?"

"Apparently, your parents know everything, too and when I was looking for a new employee..."

"It was Mom!" Juliette exclaimed indignantly. "She sent me to that interview at the Circle-K!"

"Yeah, we were both setup!" I concluded.

Juliette seemed even more stunned at those extra revelations.

"What about Jen – how much does she know?"

"Are... Yeah – well she has no idea that Dave and I are Kick-Ass and Hit Girl... But we are training her..."

"Which explains all the bruises!" Juliette chuckled.

..._...

After finishing off the pizzas, we took the wide-eyed Juliette on a tour of the rest of the Safehouse. After leaving the Command Centre, we took the door on the left, which was made of thick steel and required a code to open the door. Inside was the upper floor of the two-storey armoury.

"Fucking wow!" Juliette exclaimed.

"You have a foul mouth, girl," I commented.

"Says you, Hit Girl!" Marty reminded me and I had to agree.

Juliette gazed around at the weapons arrayed around her. There were not many on display – we needed to build up our cash reserves before obtaining some more, virgin, weapons. Juliette had noticed the many empty gaps.

"Hey, being a vigilante 'ain't exactly cheap!" I retorted as we descended the spiral staircase to the lower level.

"Cool..."

Juliette had seen our combat suits.

"They are way better than mine..." she mused as she touched the suits.

"Play your cards right and you might get one too," I said with a grin.

..._...

We left the armoury through another steel door and entered the main vehicle storage area, which at that point was filled with two motorcycles and a truck!

"Plenty of room for expansion, I see!" Juliette commented.

"That, is the idea, Strongbow... _You_ are the first part of that expansion," Dave told the girl.

Beside the vehicle storage area was a large exercise mat and a large open area for sword work. There was also a space with weights and running machines.

"Thank you, guys... For allowing me to be part of your team – I won't let you down... Or should I say: Strongbow won't let you down!"

* * *

 ** _Two days later  
Saturday evening_**

I was worried.

No – I was _very_ worried. Jen had not turned up for her training session that morning, nor had she turned up for her shift with Juliette. In fact, Juliette had called me telling me that she could not get hold of Jen at all!

I had even driven by her apartment – there was nobody in, nor was there any sign of trouble. More worryingly, nobody had seen her since the Wednesday morning. At eight, that night, I called Marty and asked him if he could track her cell phone.

"Does Hit Girl wear purple?" Was his indignant response.

* * *

 ** _That night  
Safehouse F_**

Marty was sitting in the Command Centre and punching buttons on his keyboard.

Seconds later, a large map of Seattle appeared on one of the giant screens that was mounted on the glass wall. Numbers began to flash on the screen, as markers appeared inside concentric rings across the map.

"Okay... She's not in the centre of Seattle... Woah!" Marty commented. "Her cell is not in Seattle at all – it was last marked being turned off at the airport..."

"Can you find out where she went?" I persisted.

"Please..."

"Marty has an ego – be careful, Mindy!" Dave warned with a chuckle.

As I watched, the map zoomed out before racing to the east – east? The map stopped at the last place I had expected...

"New York?" Dave queried.

"New York," Marty confirmed.

"Looks like we're going to New York!" I commented.


	10. New York, New York

**_Sunday_**

 ** _2,860 miles to the East_**

I was in trouble.

The man had found me in Seattle – I owed the bastard and he had come to collect. All I had to do was carry some stuff to New York... Or so he had said! The moment I had left the airport I had been set upon and thrown into the back of a van.

"You, my friend, are a very fine gift from the west..."

"Gift?"

"You belong to me know, bitch and I think I am going to enjoy having you all to myself..."

* * *

 ** _Sunday evening_**

 ** _Safehouse C  
New York City_**

"Cosy!"

"We like it," Dave replied.

We had just flown in that morning and we were all very tired. After showing Juliette the Safehouse – what there was of it, we all settled down for an early night. The following day was expected to be a long one. I also found that Juliette was itching to go visit her Uncle, why I had no idea.

I decided to ask Marcus about this Gigante in the morning.

* * *

 ** _The following morning  
Monday_**

 ** _Home of Marcus Williams  
New York City_**

There were plenty of items to pack.

"Where the hell did they come from?" Marcus exclaimed as Mindy came down the stairs.

"What?" Mindy asked innocently, trying in vain to hide the two combat shotguns that she held in her hands.

Marcus just glared at his adoptive daughter who caved almost immediately.

"It's probably better that you don't know..." Mindy replied, blushing furiously and placing the weapons into a carry case. "Just don't ask if there are any more weapons stashed..."

I just shrugged and Marcus grinned and shook his head as Mindy vanished back up the stairs.

..._...

Later that morning, over a coffee, Mindy asked Marcus about Gigante.

Juliette was at Safehouse C, packing, so she would not be offended by anything that Marcus said. However, I was surprised to see Marcus' expression harden at the mention of the name.

"I hate corrupt cops and the number one rotten cop: Lieutenant Victor _fucking_ Gigante. No proof has ever been found against Gigante, but everybody knows the bastard's dirty. We just can't do anything about it!"

I was more than a bit surprised hearing Marcus swear, it was _very_ rare for him to get this worked up. Mindy also looked a little surprised too. Marcus took a deep breath before continuing.

"Mindy, Dave. It's difficult telling you both this, but you need to know. When Damon refused to be bought and was then set-up by Frank D'Amico, Gigante was the next choice. Gigante has worked for the mob, for as long as you've been alive, Mindy. Dave, it was Gigante that ordered the roundup of Heroes, including Kick-Ass," Marcus explained further.

That put the death of my Dad squarely at Gigante's door – from a certain point of view...

I could see Mindy's rage building. So could Marcus.

"Mindy, I know you're angry, but you can't just kill a Cop," Marcus said strongly.

"Why the _fuck_ not!" Mindy retorted. "The bastard fucking deserves it..."

"You're right, he does, but... He is a senior Police Officer. There would be repercussions," Marcus replied.

Mindy took a deep breath, nodded and calmed down a bit.

"Sorry, I was thinking in the heat of the moment... Does Juliette know about her Uncle?"

"Not that part – Juliette has other reasons for hating her Uncle and while I know what went on, I can't tell you without betraying a confidence," Marcus replied.

* * *

 ** _That afternoon_**

"Oh, Mindy!"

"Yeah, Marcus."

"There's some of your junk in the garage – would you clear it out please, there's a good girl..."

"I never left anything..." Mindy commented as she headed out the back.

I smirked at Marcus – I knew what was going on! Thirty seconds later there was a scream...

"Holy, fuck!" Came the yell and Mindy burst back into the kitchen. I had _never_ seen a bigger smile on _anybody!_

"Something up, Mindy?" I inquired innocently.

Mindy's mouth just flapped and then she scowled at me.

" _You knew!_ "

"I thought it might be a nice surprise..."

"Nice!" Mindy exclaimed and she dived on top of me, kissing me on the lips repeatedly.

"I think I'm gonna go check – something... anything!" Marcus muttered with distinct discomfort.

* * *

Mindy was in heaven!

Naturally, she insisted on going for a ride – neither of us dared get in the way, so it was lucky that I had been shopping and bought her a black helmet and some full-body leathers and boots. Talk about skittish – I was certain that she was about to piss herself!

It was a little after ten that night when there was a dull roaring noise from the garage and then a purple motorcycle roared out of the drive and down the street, taking a right at the next junction.

I just shook my head and kept my fingers crossed that Mindy would not do anything stupid!

* * *

I was... I was one with the machine – I had never expected to feel the familiar throb between my legs, ever again.

I would never be able to thank Marcus – I still could not believe it; I had my Ducati back and now I was on FDR drive and zipping in between the other vehicles at eighty-miles-per-hour. After about twenty minutes, I was joined by a Yamaha YZF-R1. The motorcycle was black and crimson, but most strikingly, there was a shape on the side of the machine, just in front of the rider's right knee – it was a diving raven.

The other rider was studying at my own machine and had focussed on the 'HG' initials in front of my own knee. The helmet turned to look at me directly and I noticed the accoutrements around the rider's waist. I saw a pistol and some blades – I was riding alongside a New York vigilante!

The vigilante accelerated ahead with a wave of her hand – yes it was a girl. Nobody was going to beat Hit Girl in her home city! I twisted the throttle and accelerated after the Yamaha, quickly passing one hundred miles-per-hour. I caught up and shot past the other vigilante, leaving her in my dust, our engines echoing as we passed beneath the UN building.

I left the FDR at East 61st Street and pulled over beside a parking lot. I did not have to wait long as a certain Yamaha pulled up beside me.

"You ride well..."

"Quite a compliment from Hit Girl!" The other vigilante growled.

"May Hit Girl know who she is talking to?"

"I, am Raven!"

"Raven – you taking up my mantel, are you?"

"Not a chance – but I _will_ do what I can to protect this City..."

"You do that, Raven..."

* * *

As I entered the kitchen, I expected them both to be in bed, but no, there they both sat, grinning.

"So – who has the wettest panties in New York?" Dave quipped.

I was speechless and yes, I was very wet!

* * *

 ** _The following morning  
Tuesday_**

 ** _Safehouse C_**

We were at the Safehouse when we received the call from Marty.

"I found her – she is currently in an apartment on East 65th Street, near to Lexington Avenue – at least her cell is..."

"Thanks, Marty – we'll take it from here, just let us know if the cell moves," Dave replied.

"Okay, Juliette, let's get geared up – Hit Girl and Kick-Ass were never in New York, so we are going to wear plain black body armour and masks..."

"I can work with that," Juliette commented as she was handed a pile of clothing.

* * *

"You want _me_ to help _you_ with something illegal?"

Marcus looked like I had just slapped him.

"It's only a stakeout – we'll get you a big box of doughnuts!" I replied and received a withering glare from Marcus. "Okay – no doughnuts..."

"How about I just go into the building, flash my badge and a photo of Jen?"

"That would work, too!" I replied.

* * *

 ** _Later that afternoon_**

 ** _East 65th Street_**

"You owe me twenty bucks!" Marcus commented as he got back into his car.

"Well?" I demanded from the back seat – Dave was in the front and Juliette was beside me.

"Penthouse, twenty-sixth floor..." Marcus explained. "Turns out the concierge owes me a favour. He has to go on his rounds about eleven tonight and he might accidentally leave some keys on his desk and find a problem in the basement... Oh, the CCTV will be faulty too..."

"You're not as bad as Mindy makes out, Marcus!" Dave quipped.

"I... I never..." I stammered before I realised that Dave was just goading me. "Cunt!"

* * *

 ** _That night_**

 ** _220 East 65th Street_**

The concierge was true to his word.

Strongbow swiped the keys and opened the back door. We climbed up the fire stairs to the roof where they had a very nice swimming pool and exercise area. I peered over the edge and could see the target balcony below us. The sliding glass door must have been open as I could hear voices.

"I just heard Jen, she's in there and she is in trouble!"

I readied the harness with Kick-Ass' help and once I was ready, Kick-Ass and Strongbow headed downstairs to make their entrance via the front door of the penthouse with the concierge's keys. We all wore black clothing and domino masks – which looked quite neat on Dave! We each had a rolled up balaclava on our heads too.

I pushed off and swung down to the balcony a dozen or so feet below the roof.

* * *

 ** _Apartment 2602_**

It was about to happen again.

I could not face it, twice within as many months. The bastard was enjoying himself as he undressed. I was already naked and tied to the bed; there was nothing that I could do – nobody even knew that I was in New York. I had tried to fight, but I still had a lot to learn – not that I would ever learn anything else. I would never see Seattle again...

There was a noise from outside the bedroom and I heard a scuffling, followed by a yell. The bastard moved towards the bedroom door and was about to open it when it burst open sending the bastard flying backwards and crashing to the floor.

Two black-clad people walked into the room. They saw me and one jumped onto the bed, cutting the cords that bound me.

"We really must stop meeting like this, when you have no clothes on, Jen – people will start to talk!"

* * *

As Strongbow cut the final cord, I pulled Jen to her feet and checked her for injuries.

Despite her being naked, she seemed unhurt. I kicked the bastard on the floor, hard in the stomach – he screamed out and rolled around in agony. Kick-Ass came in, just then.

"The guard is all nicely trussed up for the cops and there's plenty of evidence for an arrest, too – drugs on the table!" He commented. "Hi, Jen – good to see you!"

"I am feeling so confused right now..." Jen groaned.

"Get dressed and then we can get you to safety – questions can wait," I replied.

"I've found Jen's cell and passport, plus her purse," Strongbow said.

"Let's go – we need to be out of the building in the next twenty minutes..."

I ran up to the roof to retrieve my harness while Kick-Ass and Strongbow took Jen downstairs.

* * *

As we watched from our hire car, NYPD vehicles skidded to a halt outside the block, lights flashing and sirens screaming. Several Officers ran inside where the concierge informed them of some suspicious activity on the 26th floor...

Dave was about to pull out and leave the area when Strongbow leapt out of the car. I watched as she ran towards a plain clothed Police Officer who was climbing out of his car. I jumped out and ran after her. Thankfully nobody seemed to be looking in our direction as Strongbow shoved the cop into an alleyway beside the building.

"You fucking bastard!" Strongbow growled.

"Get the fuck off me – I'm Lieutenant Gigante and you can't..." The cop said taking several steps back, away from Strongbow

"Oh, shit!" I growled as Strongbow strode forward to Gigante.

Before I could say anything, her fist came back and then powered forwards straight into the corrupt cop's face and he went down hard. Strongbow leapt after him and kept punching and kicking the cop until Kick-Ass appeared to drag her off, kicking and spitting.

Wow!

We ran back to the car and Kick-Ass floored the accelerator.

* * *

 ** _Safehouse C_**

"Would you like to explain what happened out there?"

"Not really, no..." Juliette replied as she dragged off her mask.

"Well, missy, you need to tell us something – we cannot have you going off like a goddamn loose cannon!" Mindy responded harshly. "That was a cop, in full public view!"

"He drove us out of New York – that was why we moved to Seattle..."

I sensed something else and noticed that Mindy had too. There was a faraway look in Juliette's eyes and it seemed vaguely familiar. Mindy's expression softened and she guided Juliette onto the couch, sitting down beside her.

I went over to the kitchen and started making coffee.

Jen was sitting on a chair, looking slightly freaked out by everything. Her eyes darted from the weapons on the walls, to the faces that she recognised, but...

"Who the fuck, are you people?" She suddenly exclaimed.

"I am Hit Girl, he is Kick-Ass and she is Strongbow," I explained. "Strongbow, please meet Kora..."

"What?" Juliette asked.

"Jen is being trained by me to become a vigilante – that is her name, Kora."

"Oh – this must be a major shock to you, Jen; I know – I only found out about these guys a short time ago. Just imagine – our mild-mannered boss is really a cold killer!"

"Thanks!" I said dryly. "Back to you, Juliette..."

"Yeah..."

* * *

I felt distinctly uncomfortable, but I knew that I was among friends.

"This is difficult..."

"You've heard _my_ story, Juliette, just take your time – it can't be any worse... Can it?"

"Thanks, Jen – no, it's nowhere near as bad as what happened to you..." I replied. "His hands used to wander when I started puberty and he tended to freak me out. When I was thirteen he used to get me to sit on his lap and cuddle him. I knew he liked it – I could feel him getting hard beneath me..."

I could see the look of revulsion on Mindy's face and also a very dark set to her eyes that I had never seen before.

"Did you tell anyone?" Jen asked.

"Only my Aunt and Uncle – who would believe me; it was my word – a thirteen-year-old girl, against his – an NYPD cop... They argued, but he denied everything..."

"You showed some restraint – considering that you were armed..." Dave said as he spoke for the first time.

"I suppose I did..." I replied.


	11. Back In Seattle

**_Thursday morning_**

We stayed in New York another day, packing a large, unmarked van with equipment.

Safehouse C had many boxes of virgin weapons and a shitload of ammunition – all in perfect condition. I would leave a good selection of weapons and equipment in New York – I had no idea if I might ever be back in the City. Safehouse A was still intact – Dave had checked on that; I had not wanted to go back there. I had avoided the place for a couple of years – stupid, but that place had way too many memories for me and not good memories either.

Juliette had gone with him and she said that she had enjoyed seeing the place where Hit Girl had grown up. Dave himself had commented on feeling more than a little creeped out about being back there again. He also had many, many memories of the place – not all of them good, either!

I vividly remembered almost shooting him with my H&K MP5K that night when Daddy had died – I had been furious with him at the time...

..._...

Dave drove the van from New York that morning, accompanied by Juliette, while I flew back to Seattle with Jen, who was still traumatised by her experience. Once I had her settled in at our house and I had checked in with Marty, who said that he would keep an eye on her, I flew to Minneapolis where I would meet up with Dave and Juliette, the following day.

It was going to be a very tiring few days!

* * *

 ** _Friday afternoon_**

While Dave and Juliette slept, I drove northwest towards Fargo.

North Dakota had to be the most boring state to drive through... period! Montana was only slightly better, but Dave drove that, I took over again as we neared Spokane. Talk about a long drive! It was even more complicated considering what we were hauling – very little was even faintly legal and I had it all wired with C4 and thermite, just in case. As a result, we slept in the van which was complicated, mainly for Juliette, but the girl never complained.

Juliette seemed to be enjoying herself and she seemed to have enjoyed beating up on Gigante and she seemed a lot happier for it. Marcus had been furious when he had found out, but as he knew the story, he turned a blind eye to the attack. Gigante was livid, but he never knew who had attacked him and neither had anybody else! Apparently, nobody liked Gigante and Strongbow could have attacked him in Times Square and no cop would have come to his rescue!

It was very late on Sunday evening when we finally pulled the van into the Safehouse and collapsed into a bed. Jen and Marty had been there to help us, which I was _very_ thankful for.

I needed sleep – lots of it!

* * *

 ** _Monday afternoon_**

 ** _Safehouse A_**

We all slept late.

Juliette was the first up and she was met by Jen with a much appreciated coffee.

"God, you need a shower!" She said, wrinkling her nose.

"Sorry – a few days in a truck smells like that!"

"I suppose I need one, too!" I commented as I entered the kitchen. "You like my Safehouse, Jen?"

"Yeah, Marty showed it to me – it's awesome... Thanks for rescuing me and for trusting me..."

"We are a team, all of us. Together we are strong and we will support each other."

"Thanks, Mindy – I owe you a lot."

* * *

I felt a lot more human after a good, hot and very long shower.

"That's better!" Jen said with a smirk as I entered the Command Centre.

Jen was sniffing the air.

"Funny girl...!"

"You do smell nice, Juliette," Marty confirmed with a dorky kind of grin.

"Right, girls – we have a truck to unload and a lot of crap to stow!" Mindy said as she came through the door, her hair still slightly wet.

"I just got clean!" I complained.

* * *

The armoury looked a _lot_ better once it was full of weapons.

There was nothing more useless, or more depressing, than an empty armoury! The two-storey room was not full, not my any means, but it had space for expansion. While I enjoyed cleaning the weapons and placing them in their allotted space, I started thinking about the way my life was going.

I had left New York, alone. I had reached Seattle with Dave. Marty had joined us, making us a threesome. Now, we were a team of five – it made things a lot easier, scraping the secrecy between ourselves. I had talked a lot with Juliette on the long drive back to Seattle. We had talked about her, her life and that bastard, Gigante. We had also talked about Jen and what training I had given her.

"Marty and I are slightly outnumbered now..." Dave had growled.

I had told him to shut up and just put up with it!

* * *

 ** _The following morning_**

 ** _Boulevard Park_**

"You are kidding me?"

I looked up at Dave.

"What's up?"

"You're applying for a concealed pistol licence?"

"Thought it might be a good idea..."

Dave picked up the form and began to read it through and then he smiled in a very patronising way; I scowled.

"First problem – you need to be twenty-one and you..."

"If you make _one_ comment about my tits or my height... Besides I have a fake ID," I interrupted.

"You answered number three wrongly: 'Are you the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant from any court for any crime?'... You are!"

"Hit Girl is, but Mindy Macready is not... kind of."

"Semantics... Okay – you cannot apply for a CPL if you have committed any of the following: Assault in the fourth degree – yes..."

"Not really – fourth degree is accidental; I have never hurt anybody _accidentally_ – only intentionally..."

Dave laughed.

"Moving on... Coercion – oh yeah! Stalking – definitely! Reckless endangerment – been there with you... Criminal trespass in the first degree – assaulting a penthouse should count..."

"You are a funny cunt!" I growled.

"Here's another one – 'anyone who is of unsound mind'..."

"You trying to say something?"

"Not 'trying', no... How about: 'anyone who is a fugitive from justice'."

"You can be a real asshole at times, Dave!"

"I learnt from the best," Dave chuckled as he gave me a kiss.

"I have a form for you, too, plus a fake ID saying that you are twenty-one – I'm sure you can pull it off."

* * *

 ** _Almost two weeks later  
Thursday_**

 ** _Mount Baker Avenue_**

It was a major operation moving house.

I never knew – and I never intended to do it again – ever! I would have liked Marcus to have been around to help and he had wanted to, but he had had to return to New York.

There was _s_ o much to do before we could enjoy our new home properly. It did not help that some... Well, a good chunk actually, of our stuff was generally frowned upon and considered illegal in most states of the civilised world.

Now that Juliette knew our secret, she was helping us to sort things out.

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

"Thanks, Juliette – we could not have got moved in so quickly without your help."

"I was happy to help," the tired girl said as she headed out the door.

It felt good to finally have our own place... Yeah, we had one previously, but know we had a proper house with space and a level of luxury.

The house was a new-build, to the southeast of Seattle and not all that far from the Circle-K. The first floor had a garage that held our truck easily. There was an open plan living/dining room to the front of the property and a good sized kitchen/family room to the rear with a deck. There was also a bedroom which we had converted into an exercise room.

Up the stairs, we had a master suite with a Jacuzzi in the bathroom! There were three further bedrooms too. At the top of the stairs was a large open area where we had a couple of couches.

We also had a basement with a large room that we had equipped as a training area and which opened out onto the back yard, beneath the deck. There was another bedroom that we were intending on using as a 'secure' store room.

That night, we tested out the Jacuzzi...

Together.

* * *

 ** _SE 46th Way, Bellevue_**

I had not had a good chance to speak with my parents since I had found out that they knew all about me being Strongbow.

For their part, they did not know that I now knew and they had no idea who Mindy and Dave really were. They had met Jen, but again – she was just another teenager, nothing more. After dinner that evening, my parents sat down in the living room to watch TV as per usual. Only I was going to upset their cosy evening on the couch.

"Have you two known since the very beginning?" I demanded.

"Known what?" Mom asked.

"Let me see – that I am a teenaged vigilante fighting crime in Seattle..."

There was total silence as my parents just looked at each other. Dad sighed as he looked directly at me.

"I knew you'd find out, Marcus said it could not stay a secret for ever – I'm sorry, we decided that it may be better for you if we weren't involved," Dad explained.

"We've been following your activities to make sure that you are safe," Mom added.

My anger at them went out of me – I knew that they cared about me, only...

"You know that I have joined up with another vigilante?"

"Hit Girl and Kick-Ass?" Dad asked. "Yes, we know."

Obviously, they were very well informed.

"Do you know who they are? There true identities?"

"No – and we don't want to know, either."

Their tone told me that they knew more than they were telling, but I did not push it.

* * *

 ** _The next day  
Friday_**

We met our neighbours that morning.

They were the Richards family. Dr Grace Richards was a surgeon and she lived with her two kids, Owen and Hollie. Owen was thirteen while Hollie was eleven. They were a very nice, ordinary family and they made us both feel welcome in the area.

One thing that was out of the ordinary was the face that the family was _not_ American; they were British – but I had no problem with that. Another thing that actually did worry me was that Owen had visible bruises on his skin, and me being me, I recognised them as bruises caused by punches and kicks.

That, gave me cause for concern.

..._...

Dave politely suggested that I should keep out of it, but I could not; if that boy was being abused... I chose to follow him the next morning – discretely – and I very quickly discovered where the bruises came from.

On his way to school he was intercepted by a group of other boys around his own age, only they were bullies and they punched and kicked Owen, ignoring his younger sister's attempts to help her brother. I also heard the threats against Hollie and Owen if they dared to tell anybody the truth.

..._...

"I should break those fucking bullies' arms!" I seethed when I got back home.

"No you won't!" Dave commented strongly.

"Just messin', jeez! You know I..." I stopped there – he knew me all too well.

"I know you wouldn't, but you would still rough them up; but we don't do that, do we Hit Girl?"

"No, Dave – we do not," I growled, then I had an idea. "I have an idea!"

"Oh, God – not another one..." Dave breathed. For some reason Dave seemed to fear my ideas!

"This one's a good idea!"

"Let's hear it..."

"We start a Dojang and teach kids like that young boy how to stick up for themselves."

Dave smirked.

"Not bad, Hit Girl!"


	12. Kora

**_Four weeks later  
March 18th  
Friday evening_**

Kora looked stunning as she stood on the mat.

Marty actually whistled as he gazed down from the Command Centre.

"She does look good in that getup!" I acknowledged before leaving the Command Centre and making my way downstairs via the armoury.

* * *

Over the usual undergarments, she wore a black Kevlar-lined cat suit, which zipped up the front.

For her upper body, she wore body armour in the form of a black form-fitting corset. Her boots were black and knee-length with seven buckles on each. Over everything, she wore an ankle-length black leather trench coat. The coat had a split seam at the back from the waist down. Her identity was protected by a black veil that covered the lower part of her face along with a black hood that covered her hair, placing her face into shadow.

On each hip, she wore a pistol holster, with a pair of SIG SAUER P320 Compact nine-millimetre pistols that were equipped with threaded barrels to take a suppressor as required. In her right boot, she carried a fifteen-inch Laredo Bowie Knife, with a ten-inch blade. In a scabbard on her left side, she wore a Falcata Fighter sword. The blade was sixteen-inches long and very deadly.

"Awesome!" I commented.

"Cool!" Strongbow commented as she finished adjusting Kora's weapons.

"I think it is time... You ready Kora?"

There was a pause and I saw Kora's fingers nervously running over her weapons, she looked up at me.

"Yes, Hit Girl – I am."

..._...

Since I had alternative transport – my purple Ducati Panigale was in perfect condition and as I sat astride it, I watched with a grin as Strongbow tentatively climbed onto _her_ new ride. Since I did not need it, nor had I really cared for it, I had passed my Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R ABS motorcycle onto her – some cosmetic alterations had been made, which had included replacing the purple with a grey/black digital urban camouflage; it contrasted very nicely with the black frame. On the front shield, directly in front of the rider's knees, was a logo, in a lighter grey. The logo depicted the upper body of a female archer, raising her bow and notched arrow into the air, ready to release

For that night, Kora would ride in the GMC Canyon with Kick-Ass. His Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS Adventure was mounted in the rear – just in case.

* * *

Kora had done really well in her continued training and she was ready and keen to prove herself.

Since her return from New York, she had got stuck into both her training and her work at the Circle-K. As she was technically homeless, too, I had found her a small two-bedroom house and helped her from a financial point of view. It was not far from the Circle-K and close to where Dave and I lived.

Juliette was jealous and she had asked if she could move in with Jen, but her parents had said no – quite firmly, actually. Mind you, it didn't seem such a bad idea – I resolved to chat with Juliette's parents about it.

* * *

 ** _That night_**

 ** _Alaskan Way_**

It was dark and as we crossed the railroad tracks, we identified our target for the night.

The cruise terminal was just down the road and across the road was Pier 67. The gym before us was being used for some under the table nefarious purposes – purposes that I did not like, nor ones that would be tolerated in my adoptive city.

Strongbow and I pulled up down the side of the building, parking in the shadows. Kick-Ass, in his truck, along with Kora, parked up a block behind the building. Strongbow seized her bow from its mounting on the right side of her motorcycle and I followed suit with my bō-staff.

It was not long before the action began.

..._...

The dealing was out in the open – it was expected. I knew that certain cops had been suitably bribed to stay away from the area. Being close to the cruise terminal meant extra trade at certain times.

"Money is power – I have money..."

The man was an idiot, showing off his money roll. He raised it into the air so all could see...

"Strongbow..." I growled quietly over our communications.

"With this money, I control everything, I..."

With a whooshing sound, then a thud, the money roll was plucked from his hand and pinned against the side of the next building. He turned, reaching for his weapon.

"I don't think so," I growled, stepping into the light, spinning my separated bō-staff blades and placed one tip against the dealer's throat. The other blade was poised a mere inch from the neck of his bodyguard.

..._...

"You stupid idiots, you are making a big mistake – you will pay for this; I will see to that..." the dealer hissed.

"Fuck off!" Kick-Ass growled as he kicked the man's feet out from under him and he crashed to the ground.

I followed suit with his bodyguard, keeping my blades in place. I knew that the dealer had plenty of muscle available and it would _not_ be far away.

* * *

I sensed the movement rather than saw it and reacted instinctively, just as I had been trained.

In two swift movements, I punched the bodyguard in the face, putting him down, and flung the bō-staff section in my right hand towards the object in my peripheral vision. There was a small scream and then the clatter of a machine-pistol hitting the concrete beneath our feet. The man coughed up blood as he sank to his knees, the finely honed blade entering just below his ribcage and protruding from his back. I kicked the bodyguard in the face as he made a move to get back up – he yelled out as his nose exploded in a cloud of blood.

There was a rush of feet from behind the fallen man.

..._...

Everything moved very fast.

Kora went down almost immediately and then I found myself fighting several thugs. They were definitely organised and they took a beating from us, before returning with their own beating just as hard. Kick-Ass put down another before moving to help Strongbow who had changed position to cover Kora as she struggled back to her feet.

I raised the available half of my bō-staff to fend off a machete that drove towards my head. The blade of my bō-staff exploded into pieces! For a moment, I was stunned, but I recovered quickly and dove to my right, away from the lethal machete and below its return swing. I was incensed and made the thug regret his action as I deftly removed the machete from his hands and drove it into his fucking face, relishing the blood which coursed down the front of the corpse.

A few yards away, I saw Kora wielding her Falcata Fighter sword like a pro, slashing a large thug across the stomach and sending his entrails into the gutter. The girl never paused but she dived toward the next thug, eager for blood. Strongbow was sending her arrows into as many targets as she could find – at close range her arrows were deadly. How many thugs we were fighting, I had no idea, but we were all tiring – well, all except for Kick-Ass!

He was surrounded by thugs, but his armour kept him safe, not to mention his lack of functional nerve endings! I envied him for those, I really did... There was a roar as he struck down two thugs and threw another into the air. The roar had been Kick-Ass – he was like a pissed-off bull elephant on a stampede...

Out of nowhere I heard a vicious snarl, closely followed by a yell from one of the thugs.

..._...

I turned to see a large animal lunge out of the darkness and dive for the nearest man, biting him in the thigh. The man kicked out and the dog released its grip allowing the man to hobble off. I saw Kick-Ass give the dog a strange look, but he continued fighting. The animal wasted no time and dived at another man who was about to shoot at Kora, biting deeply into the thug's right arm.

The man screamed as he dropped his pistol.

Where the hell had a damn dog come from and why was it fighting for _us_? The animal seemed fearless – or maybe just rabid. Either way, the animal had saved a life and that gave it the benefit of the doubt as far as I was concerned. Annoyingly, the thugs seemed more scared of the mutt than yours truly, and that pissed me off more than a little – I would have to work on my reputation in Seattle... I was _not_ about to be upstaged by a fucking dog!

The fight fell apart and I noticed that the dealer was long gone in all the chaos. I retrieved my intact section of bō-staff and the remains of the rest. The whole night had sucked, big time. Everybody was unhurt, just bruised and exhausted.

The dog just lay on the ground panting.

* * *

 ** _Safehouse A_**

We had had no choice but to bring the canine back to the Safehouse.

I lay her gently on the mat and Marty produced a bowl of water, which the dog lapped down speedily. Once finished, I approached the animal slowly and carefully.

The dog, once a very beautiful looking German Shepherd, was looking up at me with big brown eyes and with a somewhat curious expression. The fur was unkempt and dishevelled; the poor animal must have been living on the streets.

Unbidden, my mind went back quite a few months, to the previous summer. I suddenly had the glorious picture of Chris D'Amico, with a dog on his balls! I then envisioned the German Shepherd with a mask. I had to think for a minute before the name jumped into my head.

I knelt down and looked directly, into the dog's eyes.

"What are you doing, Dave?" Mindy asked, a 'have you lost your mind' expression on her face.

"Sophia?" I asked, cautiously.

The dog barked once and then bounded towards me happily. She licked my face excitedly as if I was a long lost friend.

"Good to see you, girl!" I said, stroking her.

"You know her name?" Mindy asked, curiously.

"We've already met – a while ago; Sophia is a Super Hero – otherwise known as Eisenhower!" I explained and received another bark, as soon as I mentioned her Super Hero identity.

"Oh, for fucks sake!"

"This dog is very special!" I said. "Eisenhower is a highly skilled crime fighter, who attacks with just a single word!"

A look of understanding crossed Mindy's face.

"This wouldn't happen to be the mutt who likes chomping on dick?" Mindy asked, with an evil smirk.

"Just as you do, lover!" I whispered to Mindy, causing her eyes to bug out and her to blush deeply.

Jen laughed and so did Juliette, much to Mindy's obvious discomfort.

* * *

 ** _Mount Baker Avenue_**

I sat in the family room, on the couch, just staring at the dog as she lay on the mat in front of the empty fireplace, fast asleep. I was still brooding over my shattered bō-staff, so the dog was a willing distraction.

The sleeping dog was obviously very tired and she had consumed quite a bit of food, along with a lot of water before she had calmly laid down to sleep. I was confused – how the bloody-hell had a dog, which we had last seen in New York, six months before, turned up in Seattle almost three-thousand miles away on the opposite side of a fucking continent? It was also obvious that the dog had not simply just walked across the continent but it was also obvious that the dog had been sleeping rough for only a few days.

Oh well, I decided not to dwell on it – maybe the mystery would resolve itself!


	13. Unity

**Unity  
** _ˈjuːnɪti_  
noun  
1\. the state of being united or joined as a whole.

* * *

We had built ourselves a serious vigilante team.

Kick-Ass  
Hit Girl  
Battle Guy  
Strongbow  
Kora

It was an impressive list considering that only six months previously I had been very much alone when I had left New York, left Dave, left everything. Then I had been viciously raped in Chicago – I had thought that both my life and that of Hit Girl had been well and truly over. Then my knight had saved me – yet again!

I still wasn't sure about the canine element, but I was still considering it. Anyway, we had a team, and we had a name.

 _Unity._

* * *

 ** _One week later  
Friday_**

I was excited – Dave said I was bouncing off the walls, just like I had been at Rasul's – and the reason? Marcus was coming to town!

I was also pissed – Dave and Marty were to blame; who else. The two fuckers had decided that as it was April 1st, I would make a good target for an April Fool... How dare they even _consider_ pranking me – I was Hit Girl! Not only was I fooled; they fooled me three fucking times and...

First, when I helped myself to some ice-cream, I found that it had been rather expertly swapped for mashed potato – now, I thought that it was just a genuine mistake on my part; okay, I was having a blonde moment!

Second, where the fuck it had come from I had absolutely no idea, but when I turned up for work that morning, there was a large photo of yours truly at about ten-years-old . . . complete with pig-tails, and it was plastered on the window of the Circle-K, six fucking feet tall! Irene thought that I 'looked so sweet and innocent'. Juliette could not keep a straight face all day and neither could most of our regular clientele who figured out pretty quickly that it was me!

Third, . . . just don't get me started on the flash-bang in the giant bag of flour...

* * *

 ** _That night_**

Dave said that my excitement had clouding my judgement – I denied it of course; name one time that my judgment has wavered . . . oh, never mind! Kick-Ass was in the truck with Kora while I was riding beside Strongbow. Maybe my thoughts dwelling on Marcus' visit made me do it... We were heading northwest on I-90, just past Issaquah when another motorcycle joined us.

The rider was clad all in black and was obviously female, judging by the slim frame. The black helmet turned toward me, but I could see nothing through the black visor. I looked down to study the machine that she was riding and I was impressed! It was a 2016 Yamaha YZF-R1M in what Yamaha called 'Carbon Fibre/Liquid Metal' trim. I felt a major surge of envy as the 998cc, liquid-cooled inline 4-cylinder, double overhead cam, 16-valve engine revved its challenge.

I revved my own, 1198cc, liquid-cooled, twin-cylinder engine in response. Did that rider know _who_ she was challenging? The unknown rider nodded in response to my accepting her challenge. I kicked down a gear ready to accelerate hard, just as my opposition did the same.

"You really gonna do this?" Kick-Ass asked from the Canyon.

"Not the best of ideas..." Strongbow added.

"Hey, it's me; what are you afraid of?"

There was a pause and I knew that Kick-Ass would be grimacing.

"Many scenarios are flashing through my mind, not many of them good and a lot of them ending in a spectacular, but unhealthy fashion!" Kick-Ass responded.

"I'll be fine!"

..._...

At that moment, the Yamaha dug down deep and smoothly accelerated ahead, I did the same, coming alongside rapidly. We passed 70mph and headed for 80mph and then onto 90mph. We both braked for a shallow turn before accelerating out and onto the next straight. The road was dry, which was a blessing. The traffic was limited too, which was also a very welcome bonus.

As we belted past Newport, a car joined the interstate and I had to make a rapid decision, slamming on my brakes and taking to the shoulder, undertaking the dickhead in the underpowered Chevy. That had been close! I powered ahead and slid between a pair of eighteen-wheelers, ignoring the angry blast of their air-horns.

We left at the next exit and slowed considerably for a pair of sharp turns and my opponent took a hard left around the roundabout, heading south. I caught up and went for an overtake, but narrowly avoided an approaching Ford which shook me up considerably.

I had no idea who the other rider thought she was, but she actually thought she could beat _me_. Beat _me_? Beat _Hit Girl_?

..._...

"Goddammit!" I yelled as I slammed on the brakes and skidded to a halt beside my victorious opponent who had pulled over to the side of the road.

"You almost became a fucking hood ornament!" Strongbow complained as she caught up and stopped beside me.

"A miss is as good as a fucking mile!" I growled back, but all the same, my legs were shaking at the near miss.

I pushed up my visor and glared at the other girl, who lifted the front of her own helmet. She looked vaguely familiar, but I could not think where from.

"Hi, Hit Girl, you ride well – I enjoyed the challenge," my opponent commented, before she leaned in closer. "Well done, Mindy!"

"What!"

Kick-Ass skidded to a halt and jumped out. He ran over and he just stared at my opponent.

"Erika!"

..._...

I was furious.

"Use that name again and I'll fucking gut you!"

"Sorry," Erika replied.

"Hey! Nobody is gutting anybody," Kick-Ass said quickly. "Can we discuss this off the street?"

I calmed down, knowing Kick-Ass was right.

"Okay," I conceded.

"Erika, I assume you know where Marty is right now?" Kick-Ass asked.

"Yeah – he knows I'm in town – he wanted to surprise you both."

"Surprising Hit Girl, is _not_ a very good idea!" Kick-Ass replied. "We'll see you there in about an hour or so."

"See ya!" Erika replied, dropping her visor and accelerating away.

"Think calm things, Hit Girl..." Strongbow laughed.

"I am, dammit!"

* * *

I was still steaming when I pulled into the Safehouse.

It didn't exactly help to find that Marty had moved 'pig-tails' as he called it from the Circle-K to the Safehouse. He had, however, cleared up all the flour...

"I hate you!" I growled with a grin.

"What happened?" Marty enquired innocently.

"Huh?"

"Pig-tails – they suit you..."

Marty ran before I could grab hold of him... I turned to Juliette...

"If you dare laugh, I'll wrap your bow around your fucking..."

Juliette clamped her hand over her mouth and ran for the armoury – I caught the laughter before the door slammed shut... I took a deep breath with my eyes closed, followed by another, before opening my eyes again – but I was still there, pig-tails and all.

"I always thought you looked cute..." Dave said carefully.

"I hated it when my hair was in pig-tails," Jen threw in as she walked past with an enormous grin on her face.

Jen jumped as several knives embedded themselves in the wall beside the armoury door.

..._...

I was Hit Girl; I could take anything that _anybody_ dished out.

As I showered, I actually found myself laughing and Dave peered in with a curious expression on his face.

"What are you so happy about?"

"That photo was actually very funny – it was just a shook, really. I was a real wild child back then and well, Daddy thought I looked sweet in the pig-tails. I was always his little girl, despite how I behaved when I was Hit Girl."

"He would be proud to see the young woman that you have grown into..." Dave commented as he enjoyed my naked body from a few feet away.

I blushed.

"Thanks – I hope he is proud, wherever he is now..."

"You're perfect Miss Macready, in every way; in mind, in body and in actions – but especially the body..."

"My tits aren't all that much bigger than when I was ten, for fuck's sake!" I complained – I had never been happy with the size of my tits.

"They seem fine to me and the tips are _very_ sensitive..." Dave said as I stepped out of the shower and he ran his left hand over my right nipple.

I shuddered to his touch and I moaned; I always did – my nipples _were_ hyper-sensitive to his touch. His right hand came up to gently caress my other nipple and my knees began to buckle beneath me – I moaned...

..._...

Minutes later, Dave was naked on top of me and I felt the pleasure of his thrusting movements spread throughout my body; I was on fire. I dug my nails into his back and I heard him grunt with the pain, but he just increased his movements and I felt like I was floating as the ecstasy flooded my brain. Then I heard a voice from outside the bedroom.

"You guys done yet?"

* * *

"What could they be doing in there?" I asked Jen.

"I have no idea..." Jen replied.

"Almost...!" came Mindy's response.

"She sounds like she's doing something energetic . . . oh!"

There was a very loud scream from the other side of the door and I felt my face warming up and Jen's was turning pink and she was giggling which was infectious. Several minutes later, the door opened and Mindy appeared putting her hair up into her usual ponytail. Her face was a little pink, but I was unsure whether that was from the 'exercise' or maybe from embarrassment.

"What are two waiting for?" Mindy demanded as she stalked past.

* * *

 ** _Mount Baker Avenue_**

When we arrived at the house, Marty and Erika were waiting for us both – Jen and Juliette had gone home.

"Hi, Mindy – you're looking good..."

"Thanks, Erika – you too."

"I'm sorry if I upset you... Marty said I probably pissed you off by beating you."

"I can take a little humiliation. Just, please, don't use my real name when I'm out as Hit Girl."

"I won't, I promise," Erika replied with a smile; she seemed a genuinely nice girl.

"So, you and Marty . . . you both still together?" I prompted.

Erika blushed and Marty looked a little uncomfortable.

"Yes – I love the geek..."

* * *

 ** _The next morning  
Saturday_**

 ** _Mount Baker Avenue_**

"You bastards!" I yelled.

Marcus smirked.

"You dare laugh, Marcus... Dammit! Just get it all out of your system..."

I endured several minutes of laughter before Marcus managed to pull himself together and decided to join the mature, adult world! There was now a life-size version of 'pig-tails' in the house... Dave, though, he was enjoying my abject humiliation.

Marty and Erika had gone back to his place, so for the moment, it was just the three of us. It was the first time that I had seen Marcus – since leaving New York. The first hug from him had felt really good. I couldn't help but notice that Marcus was a little uncomfortable and he was being gentle each time that he touched me.

"Look, Marcus, I was raped, but I am still me – I'm over it and none of those bastards will do it to anybody else, ever... Please don't treat me like a victim; with Dave's help, I keep the memories at bay. Treat me like who I am; Mindy Macready and Hit Girl – nothing less."

"I'm proud of you, Mindy, so very proud."

"Thanks, Marcus."

I felt _so_ happy to have my family around me, both parts of it. Marcus was my family, but now, so was Dave.


	14. Gravity

**_Two weeks later  
Friday morning_**

 ** _Union Avenue_**

It was strange waking up in a new bed, but I had no complaints – I had slept very well.

I needed a shower, so I headed for the bathroom where Jen had a really awesome shower with monsoon attachment. It never occurred to me to check first; I was still a little tired and I just walked straight in and there was Jen – naked and in the shower.

"Oh, God, I'm _so_ sorry!" I stammered as I turned away.

Jen laughed!

"Get a grip, Juliette, you've seen me naked before..."

"You were covered in mud!" I replied and I blushed as I turned back. "I tried not to look..."

"But you still looked?"

"You were hot – sorry _are_ hot..."

Next thing I knew, I had slid my pyjama pants down, stepped out of them and quickly dumped my top on the bathroom floor to join the pants. Jen reached out of the shower and hauled me inside and I felt myself pulled against her. She kissed me...

I felt my nipples harden as I kissed her back. I could feel her own hardened nipples as they pressed into my own breasts. I ran my hands over the very soft and very wet skin of her back. I screamed as I felt fingers enter my pubic hair and then a single finger pushed in between my folds. I ran my fingers over her breasts and I enjoyed that I could control her breathing as I gently teased her nipples in the same way I would often tease my own, when alone.

..._...

I was overjoyed that nobody was around to hear the screams that erupted from that bathroom as we both slumped to the tiles and struggled to breathe. Where the hell, had all that come from?

"Thank you..." Jen muttered as she fought to control her breathing.

I began to giggle and then I laughed out loud. Jen did the same and we hugged under the raging torrent of water, but then we both screamed as the hot water ran out. We scrambled out of the freezing torrent and grabbed some towels.

I looked at the clock and...

"Oh, shit – we better get to work, or purple bitch may actually kill us!" I warned.

"Fuck, yeah..."

* * *

 ** _The Circle-K_**

"You are thirty-two seconds late, girls!"

"Sorry, Irene!" I replied quickly as we burst through the door.

Irene was grinning as she ran her eyes over us both.

"What?" Jen asked with feigned innocence.

"You two look like you had _fun_!"

We both stood there, our mouths hanging open...

"What's with the shocked fish expressions?" Mindy asked as she entered the store.

"Each to their own... Each to their own..." Irene chuckled, she winked at us both as we blushed furiously.

"Am I missing something?" Mindy growled.

"Nothing, Boss!" We both said quickly and we ran through to the back to get ready for our shift.

* * *

 ** _Safehouse A_**

To be honest everything had gone quiet in Seattle.

We kept our training up and that included weapons practice for the newbies. Mind you, the downtime seemed to be allowing _certain_ folk to get up to things behind _other_ folk's backs: Marty and Juliette were up to something.

"How high?" Marty asked as he stared upwards from beside the Armoury and looked up towards the Command Centre.

I didn't hear Juliette's response.

"That's high..." Marty responded. "You think Mindy'll go for it?"

"Of course – just don't tell her..."

"Not a good idea..." Marty commented and he nodded towards me as he caught sight of my stealthy approach.

"Hi, Mindy!" Juliette offered uneasily.

"What are you two plotting?"

"Nothing..." Juliette tried.

Marty tried to avoid my eyes.

"Will I like it?"

"Definitely!"

"Fuck up my Safehouse and..." I let it hang.

"Cool!" Juliette said and smiled sweetly.

I was not buying it; they were up to something and I was going to get to the bottom of it, one way or another...

* * *

I was warming to Sophia.

It was nice to have the big dog lounging on the floor of the living room as Dave and I cuddled on the sofa. Dave tried to make out that the mutt and I were similar. Now, I went along with us both being bitches – that was nothing new – but I drew the line when it came to nonchalantly farting and pretending nothing had happened!

She was also very soft and enjoyed cuddles although I wasn't overly keen on all the kisses... I wasn't that kind of girl!

..._...

Six weeks had passed since my big 'idea' about a Dojang. Both Dave and Marty thought that the idea was sound – which had been a pleasant surprise; for some reason Dave and Marty tended to look panicky when I came up with ideas... Juliette suggested that a Dojang might actually provide a good cover for all our collected bruises. Jen was ecstatic about the idea for some reason – she was ecstatic about most things, actually... So, Marty was out looking for suitable premises, with Erika in tow – she had vanished for a week and then returned with the news that she was moving in with Marty... Yay! (small, slightly flat, Fluttershy type 'yay')

Juliette and I were planning what we might offer trainees at our Dojang and so while we did that, we had sent Dave out to source equipment and other supplies.

* * *

 ** _That weekend  
Saturday_**

It was Marcus, who had finally solved the riddle of Sophia.

He had come across a missing person report back in New York and something about it had made his gut squirm, so he had put it out on the wire and within a few days, he had received a hit... Right on _our_ doorstep!

That was why, that afternoon, we now found ourselves in a private room at the Northwest Hospital & Medical Center.

"The man was found," the nurse advised, "a few weeks ago and he has been in a coma pending identification – Lieutenant Williams in New York provided that from a missing person's report. His name is apparently Isaac Swanson..."

A face immediately jumped into my mind and I turned to Mindy.

"Dr Gravity... He must have come to Seattle to find us – probably heard we were here," I whispered.

"Oh!" She replied, more a little surprised.

"Will he..." Dave prompted the nurse.

"Recover?" The nurse responded. "Probably – he's making good progress, but we are talking weeks and possibly even months.

* * *

Talk about a shock!

I had never actually met Dr Gravity in person but I was well aware of who he was and that Dave had known him and fought alongside him. In fact, Dr Gravity had fought alongside us _both_ at the Warehouse on that fateful night when I had been forced to leave New York which had then led to me being raped and...

 _Enough!_

I refused to dwell on the past; the future and the present were all that mattered. I had Dave and I now had others who cared for me. I could tell that Dave was troubled by what Marcus had uncovered; he had known Dr Gravity quite well it seemed. However, I hated seeing Dave in torment.

"Dave, sweetie, it's not good to dwell on the past..."

"I know, my temperamental little hand grenade," Dave grinned.

"I am _not_ little!" I began and then saw Dave's expression.

"We need a night out – no, not at some sissy restaurant – I mean a real night out where the blood flows freely rather than the wine..."

"Is it safe to let you out?" Dave quipped.

I did not reply as I turned to Sophia.

"I need to find you some armour – my current side-kick is a little green!"

"Side-kick?"

"Well, I am most certainly _not_ Kick-Ass' fucking side-kick!"

* * *

 ** _That night_**

 ** _Safehouse A_**

I had no idea _what_ Marty was assembling below the Command Centre but he had stopped the moment that I had appeared.

I'd seen rapists with a fucking hard-on dripping cum over a woman's cunt, look less fucking guilty! No matter what I said, he and Juliette would say nothing. Juliette just told me to stop being a nosy bitch. If I wanted to be a nosy bitch in my own goddamn Safehouse... I was feeling stressed as I stripped off and it was only Dave's gentle touch that seemed to defuse me as he 'helped' to remove my bra.

However, by the time I had my combat suit on, I was hot and flustered again and never mind why...

* * *

 ** _East Marginal Way South_**

Despite who she was inside, Mindy Macready/Hit Girl was _so_ easy to wind up.

The only reason she did not gut me and destroy my body was because she loved me. I enjoyed teasing her until she was on the verge of exploding and then I'd calm her down and she'd moan with exasperation...

"You dreaming of me, again?"

I turned to look at Hit Girl on her Panigale.

"What if I was?"

"Nothing – just remember to focus on what's going on out here and not what might be going on in the bedroom later tonight..."

"Yes, Ma'am!" I grinned.

* * *

 ** _Interstate 5_**

We had just reached the southern tip of Lake Union and we headed up the east coast.

I had calmed down considerably now that we were out on the open road. It was rare for Kick-Ass to be on his Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS Adventure but when it was just the two of us it suited.

We turned off onto the 520 and headed east towards Safehouse S. Okay, maybe calling a container a 'Safehouse' was a step too far but Strongbow no longer had need of it and to be honest, it was too good to pass up. I also had plans for the site, however, we needed to patrol around it to ensure that it was secure. Marty had added some of his electronic items to assist with the security but nothing said 'stay away' like cold steel...

Not to mention that there had been some reports of anti-social behaviour in the area to the north of the Botanic Gardens, at night.

..._...

The Seattle Police did not have the resources to flood the area with patrols and certain assholes knew this and took advantage to attack young women walking home, or those out with their boyfriends. I had no intention of killing anybody – that was not necessary – but I really needed to scare the shit out of some cunts.

We parked the motorcycles up and went for a stroll in the darkness.

* * *

Kick-Ass and Hit Girl were not the only couple out that night.

There were actually several out, enjoying the cool night air. Most were only a few hundred yards away from their homes which made them feel safe – only there were also some young men who thought that it would be a lot of fun to cause trouble . . . and maybe gain a few bucks in the process.

One such group, three young men, all of whom had been friends since second grade. Like most teenagers, they thought themselves old enough to make their own decisions and if they made a bad decision, Daddy would sort everything out... Daddy could bail them out of they were arrested but Daddy would be of no help to them now that they had decided to escalate to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

They had their first target in sight...

* * *

I snapped my head around as I heard a scream over by a copse of trees a little under a hundred yards to the north of us.

We both broke into a run – as we closed there was more screaming and it was obvious that an attack was underway. As we came within the final dozen yards, we slowed and I could make out three people moving through the darkness towards us.

They were talking animatedly and loudly as if they did not have a care in the world. Had we been wrong about an attack?

"Easiest couple of hundred bucks in ages..." one idiot bragged.

"She had a nice pair of tits, too – maybe we should have..." another began.

"No way – assault is bad enough, I ain't moving to sexual assault," the third cut in.

"That would be _aggravated_ assault," I growled as I took in the pistol in the hand of one of the young men.

"Who the fuck?"

The idiot raised the pistol – a crappy looking Russian Makarov.

..._...

"You fucking serious?" I growled as I easily ripped the shitty pistol from his hand.

Kick-Ass appeared behind the young men and kicked their legs from under them. He growled as they made an attempt to get up – they stayed on the ground.

"Stay!" I growled and the three idiots flinched away from me as I leaned towards them.

I made my way towards where the scream had originated.

"Please, no more..."

It was a girl's voice – a scared girl's voice.

"You will come to no harm," I rasped.

"Who..."

"My name is Hit Girl – maybe..."

"I've heard of you," the girl said and she seemed slightly less scared. "Richard, he..."

The girl was on her knees and she held a young man who was unconscious. I checked his pulse – he was alive but there was a hefty bruise on his forehead that seemed to match the butt of the Makarov.

"You're okay, now – Kick-Ass has those three bozos in hand. Can you stand?"

"I think so..."

"Battle Guy – you got your ears on?"

"Five by five, Hit Girl, what can I do you for?"

"I need an ambulance and the Police to my position, stat."

"On their way..."

* * *

"Okay, you cunts – who wants to go home in a body bag?"

There was a paid burst of noise as all three young men attempted to stammer their innocence.

"You know what could have happened to you all, tonight?"

Nobody said anything.

"I could have gutted you all – stripped out your entrails and then used them to hang you from that fucking tree; you'd still be alive and it would probably sting a bit..."

I was sure that the youngest was going pale...

"You boys think you're fucking hard and it's fun to fuck around with others who can't protect themselves? Well, you've just been fucked over by a girl – what does that do for your fucking egos?"

I could hear sirens approaching – it was time to leave.

"I see any of you fuckers again..."

I could smell urine – somebody had just pissed themselves.


End file.
